According To You
by DarkElements10
Summary: Zack never had a reason to be jealous of any guys. Okay, there were the few that Maddie had been interested in, but that was a long time ago. He's older. More mature. So what is it about Riley's friend from home that he can't stand? Maybe it's the sheer discomfort on her face whenever said friend is around. [Side story to and references 'Can't Help It' series].
1. God Only Knows

**According to You**

 **By: Riley**

 **Summary \- **Zack never had a reason to be jealous of any guys. Okay, there were the few that Maddie had been interested in, but that was a long time ago. He's older. More mature. So what is it about Riley's friend from home that he can't stand? Maybe it's the sheer discomfort on her face whenever said friend is around.

* * *

 **Chapter One:** God Only Knows

* * *

Poompf.

Swish.

Goal.

Zack grinned and pumped his fist. A bend in the trajectory as the soccer ball rocketed towards the empty net was the icing on top of the cake. Now if only he could do it in a real game. If there had been a goalie looking to block his shot, they probably would've ended up getting smacked directly in the face. It his secret weapon, honestly. How many people would sit still with a soccer ball coming straight towards you? He'd been on the receiving end enough to know, firsthand, no one would.

Hands on his hips, Zack breathed a laugh, casually looking over his shoulder as he did so. He brushed his fringe from his face, only to end up poking himself in the eye. Zack winced, shifting his head away from the sudden sting. Okay, too casual. That was instant karma-as Cody would say. He didn't quite believe in karma himself or else he would've gotten retribution for every scheme he'd ever even thought of.

Zack turned away from the giggling girls behind him. Fast enough he felt a sharp pain in his neck. But he needed to play cool, so instead he pretended to focus on jogging over to retrieve his soccer ball from the back of the net. Ignored the raging fire that burned his cheeks. Typically, when he was at soccer practice he'd have the cross country, field hockey, and girls' lacrosse teams to look over. That afternoon wasn't typical. It wasn't even soccer season, lacrosse was the sport he currently lived and breathed. But he had to do something while he waited for Cody to finish his debate team practice. Or "Nerd Wars" as Zack called it.

It was a normal after school practice, with the boys running back and forth across the lacrosse field in a scrimmage, working on some new plays for their upcoming games. Most schools gave Spring Break as an actual break from school, but Boston had seen more than average snowfall that resulted in the students having more time off school than before. The days were tacked onto the end of the year, but the sports schedules needed to keep consistent for a bid at state championships by the end of the year.

Practice was ending; a few boys straggled behind, finding a soccer ball to practice taking shots on goal once the lacrosse equipment was put away. The practices of the other sports teams had wound down minutes before, people goofing off and standing around talking to each other as they gathered their things together.

And Zack and his teammates were certainly taking advantage of the situation to check out the girls' lacrosse team. An even bigger smile stretched across Zack's face when he noticed a few of the senior girls on the team had noticed his impressive goal—if he said so himself—and whispered to each other while looking at him every now and then.

"Come on, dude," Bob Stewart said, grabbing the ball form underneath Zack's arm. "We already know you can have every girl you want."

"Not _every_ girl," Zack said. "Even _I_ can't get Angelina Jolie."

"Like you'd even try if you had the chance." Bob snorted, spinning the ball between his hands. Then he dropped the ball to his feet and started to juggle it with ease. ""Why don't you let the rest of us guys have a chance?"

Zack placed his hands on his hips, watching his friend. Bob had certainly grown into his looks over the years. He'd cut back his mop of red hair so that it spiked in the front but was short all over, and he'd lost some weight while shooting up like a beanpole. If he were being honest, Bob was a great guy that any girl would be lucky to have. It seemed he and Barbara were on the outs again. But Barbara and Bob had been dating on and off since middle school and everyone knew they'd get back together at some point.

It always happened.

"So, Bob, how's Barbara?" Zack asked, making Bob stutter in his showmanship. The ball rolled off his feet and over to Zack, who quickly trapped it with his own. With a flick of his foot, Zack sent the ball to the top of his thigh. An evil grin slid over Zack's face. "Thought that'd get you."

"Many men have tried to take me down, Zack, and you're the only one that's managed to do so," Bob replied, folding his arms.

Zack paused. "Oh, right! And there wasn't Drew, Vance, Jolie, those girls on the soccer team, Barbara—"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Bob waved his hands. "No need to bring up all of that stuff. The past is in the past and it needs to stay there."

"No problem. Just come over to the Tipton tonight and I'll whoop your ass at the new NBA game and we'll call it even."

Bob shook his head. "I'll say it once and I'll say it again, Zack. You're a lousy date."

"It's not a date. Besides, you couldn't keep up with me, anyway." Zack smirked.

Funny how something that used to cause him so much confusion and irritation was one of the longest running inside jokes he'd have with Bob. Bob was special, that much was sure. And Zack never thought he'd be friends with someone who was as much of a nerd as Bob was-it was different when he was a friend compared to being his own brother. They had enough in common that Zack steadily and slowly stopping making fun of him. Unless the time came for it, of course.

Zack's eyes trailed across the field towards the girls' lacrosse team once more. They sat in a circle, talking among themselves as they stretched their legs, first one way than the other. Nothing too out of the ordinary and yet there was a small flutter that moved through Zack's stomach. How typical. Cody's heavy sigh from behind him finally made Zack turn and take not of his brother. Cody sat on the nearby bleachers, staring hard at his watch. The same thing he'd been doing since arriving at the tail-end of Zack's practice.

"You got a problem?" Zack asked, voice dripping with irritation. He raised a hand. "Please, only if you have the time. I'm sure it's a long list." He held up his hand, starting to count with his thumb. "Starting with your allergies and ending with your incessant need to make your bed before you get in it."

"Are you ready to go?" Cody asked. He skillfully ignored Zack's jabs against him. There was only too much ammo he had to throw back against his twin brother and it wasn't the time to get into a battle of the wits. "You know you're my ride home."

Zack rolled his eyes. It was a conversation they had nearly every day, having to share one car—their father's old one which had seen better days—and didn't seem to be anything they'd stop arguing about. Zack knew it was only a matter of hours—the next day to be exact—until he was complaining about having to wait while Cody was in one of his many 'nerd meetings'. "Better than having to wait for you to come back smelling 'like a dump truck'," Cody would reply. He also insisted Zack sit on a towel to protect the seats.

"I haven't forgotten, Cody," Zack replied. He sucked his lips into his mouth and asked, "Why don't you just take the bus?"

"And subject myself to all of the germs and diseases those of Boston's finest are willing to tout around?" Cody shot back, eyebrows rising. "Do you know how easy it is to get the common cold because of…" Zack bobbed his head back and forth, barely listening to what Cody was saying to him. He rambled on and on until finally, Cody's change of subject caught his attention, "Come on, you know mom wants us home early today."

No, as a matter of fact, he didn't remember that. What did they need to be there early for? Or maybe it was something that she was saying over breakfast? She looked to be mouthing something to him but all he heard was the classic Peanuts teacher noise. _Wah, wah, wah wah._ It wasn't his fault, really, everyone knew he was half-asleep when he had to get up before noon. Saying anything to him before then was just grounds for it going in one ear and out the other.

Nothing a strong cup of coffee couldn't cure, and he certainly was _not_ going to have any of his mother's coffee. If she could destroy what was supposed to be edible, then he didn't want to know what'd happen if he tried her drinks. It'd probably poison him. A heart attack from the caffeine alone. At least she didn't know about is Red Bull stash—or his habit of using the Tipton Employee Break Room to steal from a freshly brewed pot before Mr. Moseby caught him.

Cody watched his brother's expression then rolled his eyes, it was that glazed look again. Of course, he'd have to spell it out for him. "Grandpa Jim and Grandma Pearl are coming into town, we're having dinner…?"

Oh yeah!

Zack could feel his excitement start to rise. He hadn't seen his grandparents in years. Not since they left Seattle. And without the money to get plane tickets to fly there—and because their mother was 100% against being stuck in a car with her twin boys as they drove across the United States—they had to make do with emails and phone calls.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. We should be getting home then," Zack said. He picked up the soccer ball and spun it between his hands. Nodding over to Bob, Zack said, "Looks like I'm going to be kicking your ass later, dude."

Bob made a show of giving Zack the finger.

Zack and Cody both laughed and said goodbye to Bob—with Cody reminding him about their mathletes meeting—before the two walked towards the parking lot with Zack's lacrosse bag thudding across his back with each step. Zack pulled his keys form his pocket and swung his keys round his finger as he approached the girls' team, gently dribbling the soccer ball as he went. When they were close enough that Zack could hear small bits of their conversation—talking about something they'd seen on TV last night.

Cody eyed him warily then, seeing something mischievous in his brother's face shook his head. "No, Zack," he warned. "We have to get home."

Instead of heeding his brother's words, Zack grinned and planted himself on the ground. He brought back his right foot and kicked the ball straight towards the group with a warning of, "Head's up!" The girls, all freshman and sophomores-the senior girls had left only minutes before, stopped the ball and knocked it back to him, giggling lightly. Zack took the ball back and winked his thanks, making them giggle louder.

"Do you have any shame?" Cody asked, shaking his head.

"Ah, not really," Zack said honestly.

It was all just good fun for him, anyway. He wasn't doing anything more than flirting as he did with multiple people. If they didn't have a boyfriend they were fair he didn't have a girlfriend...Besides, he acted differently when there was someone he truly had feelings for. That's when he became a little nervous, put out his best lines, mentally quaked in his shoes as he tried to figure out where a conversation was going. On the outside, it was all charming smiles and confidence, but on the inside, he was as nervous as everyone else. Maybe even more so.

"You know, you could learn something from me." Zack nudged his brother.

"How _not_ to date?" Cody guessed. "How _not_ to have every girl absolutely hate me on sight? I could go on."

"Please don't."

Zack and Cody got into their car-with Cody letting out a yelp of annoyance when Zack dumped his sports bag onto his lap-and left the school to go to the Tipton hotel. As he drove along, Zack tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in slight annoyance. He'd had a good practice, had seen improvement in his lacrosse skills, to the point the coach had promised that he'd start the next game as front attackman, the position he'd been sharing on and off with another teammate who was just as good if not better than him.

He'd gotten the female attention he'd sought after but…not quite the one he had specifically been looking for. And that frustrated him more than he'd let on.

If Cody knew about it, he didn't say anything. Instead he buried his nose in his book, getting a head start on his homework for the next week, only lifting his head to bark at Zack's speed as he took corners and swerved into the parking spot at the hotel. They went through the lobby and hurried up to their suite. The moment Zack opened the door to the suite, he was enveloped into a hug so tight it felt that his back was breaking.

It could only be his Grandpa Jim.

Jim Kramer was nothing short of a strong family man. He'd do anything for his family and had proven it time and time again. When his daughters, their mother and their Aunt Martha asked to do something, he'd be there to help and support them every step of the way. Even from a young age their wanted nothing more than to be a singer, Grandpa Jim worked as hard as he could to make the extra money so she could get those singing lessons. He worked two, sometimes three jobs and while he would've preferred more time spent with his family, the opportunities he gave them was more than enough for him.

When their mother had announced she was pregnant, Grandpa Jim had immediately stated he'd work hard to make sure they all had what they needed to get by. It was no secret Grandpa im didn't like Kurt, he didn't necessarily look down on him, but told their mother time and time again it would take time for Kurt to grow up, time their mother didn't have to wait for with two new babies on the way. He was too much of a man to say 'I told you so' once his daughter appeared on his front porch asking for a place to stay. He simply loved her and her children as much as he possibly could, even when they moved to Boston.

"Grandpa Jim," Zack croaked, his face squished against Cody's, who also had been crushed within their grandfather's grasp. That was a _little_ too close for comfort. "Grandpa, I can't breathe."

"Yeah, I like Zack and all, but this is too close for me, too, Grandpa," Cody added. He pressed his hands against his grandfather's chest and finally managed to suck in a deep breath of air when he was released, hearing his grandmother admonish, "Let them go, Jim. I know it's been a while, but we want to keep our grandkids alive, you know?"

Grandpa Jim immediately let go of his grandsons. He took a step back and reached out, ruffling their hair. "Ah, what's life if you don't spend it with your family?" He asked. The corners of his eyes crinkled up with the laugh lines that etched through his face. "And I haven't seen my grandkids in too long, Pearl. You can't expect me to not be excited."

He gave the boys another hug, but this time it was a much warmer and friendlier hug rather than the sheer burst of excitement that came forth. Then the boys moved to give their Grandma Pearl a hug as well.

Pearl Kramer was a woman who ran her household. She juggled the bills, made sure the house was tidy from top to bottom, drove her daughters wherever they needed to go, and willingly took in Zack and Cody when their mother needed someone to babysit so that she'd be able to advance her career. Nothing was better to her than being able to spend time with her grandsons. Even when their mother did everything she could to keep from moving back home when she fell on hard times, Jim and Pearl had been the ones to suggest them moving back before the thought had even crossed their mother's mind.

Their moving away to Boston had been devastating for all involved; Carey moved away from her support system to a job that may or may not work out in the long run, Zack and Cody moved and were ripped from their schools, and Jim and Pearl lost their only grandchildren.

"Excited, dear, not exhilarated," Pearl said. She swatted her husband's arm with a dishtowel then folded it along her arm. "I don't want my grandsons murdered before I get the chance to talk to them." She reached out to grab Zack's and Cody's arms. "Now, why don't you come sit down to eat? Dinner's on the table."

"Ah…"

Zack and Cody both froze, exchanging glances. They both knew how much of a gamble it was to eat anything that wasn't take-out, something Zack made—which was as simple as heating up frozen food—or something extravagant Cody prepared. There had been a few cases of food poisoning. And it was the simple fact of bad tastes that left them with stomach aches, ducking beneath the table to spit food out into napkins, and sometimes the stray potted plant. They were very wary over the food they ate. To the point Zack could attribute part of his weight loss over the years to not eating so much because he was afraid of getting sick once more. When he didn't make himself sick.

Grandma Pearl gave the boys a conspiratory wink, "Don't worry, I cooked dinner this time."

"Thanks, mom," Carey said sarcastically from where she set the table. "I'll have you know that I've gotten better at cooking over the years. Right boys?" She turned to Zack and Cody for confirmation and they hemmed and hawed, avoiding her gaze. "Have I mentioned how much I love you two?"

"Not enough, honestly," Zack said. He ducked away from the playful slap Carey sent his way and sat at his spot at the table.

"So how long are you going to be here?" Cody asked his grandparents, unfolding his napkin and draped it over his lap. "I'd like to be able to show the new exhibits that just started at the museum."

Zack raised his gaze to the ceiling in a half roll of his eyes. "Cody, they're already old you don't want to bore them to death." He nodded his head over towards the window. "Why not just shove them off the roof or drown them in the harbor while you're at it."

"Should I be worried that we aren't going to make it back from our trip?" Grandpa Jim asked with a low laugh. "I don't remember taking out any life insurance recently."

"If that were the case, daddy, I'm sorry. But I'd get to you before the boys could," Carey said. She then shot Zack a warning look and said, "I'm sure your grandparents would love to see the new exhibits at the museum, Cody."

"That'd be lovely," Grandma Pearl agreed. "What about you, Zack? What would you like to show us while we're here?"

"Not his report card, that's for sure," Cody said. He twirled his fork around his finger and smirked. "Not unless he wanted you to feel shame and embarrassment for the familial association alone."

"Like how I feel about you every day of my life?" Zack shot back; Cody's smile immediately faded while Zack's smug smile widened. "Things were perfect those ten minutes I was an only child."

"I'm surprised you can count that high."

"Would you two stop it?" Carey asked, raising her voice. Her hands were folded tensely in her lap. "Geez, you've been at each other's throat like this for years. If I didn't know any better I'd say you hated each other."

Zack's eyes widened in surprise and when he looked over at Cody, he saw the same expression mirrored on his twin's. Intense confusion. Zack loved his brother, he'd do anything for Cody. The way the two spoke was just the way they spoke to each other. They built each other up as much as they tore each other down, keeping a good balance. There had been many times they'd been questioned by their peers whether they liked each other and said peers would end of surprised when they then saw the twins get along.

"No way," Zack defended himself. "Cody's the only one I can talk to like that." Cody nodded in agreement. "Who else would I do it to if not for him? At least I know he can take it." Then he eyed Cody for a moment. "Not very well, but he can take it."

"I'd hope you wouldn't speak to any girlfriends that way," Grandma Pearl said. She smiled warmly between her grandsons. "Such handsome boys, I'm sure you have all the girls chasing after you."

Zack opened his mouth to say another biting remark about Cody then cut off, noticing his brother turn away. A little bit of shame filled him. There were many things he could tease Cody about and he knew it wouldn't bother him. But there were others he knew were things that Cody was very insecure about and one of them was his dating life. It was no secret that, out of the two, Zack was the more popular one. It wasn't just due to his looks but from the way he talked and carried himself; with his head held high and speaking of the latest pop culture topics. Cody, on the other hand, preferred to talk about his studies and new things he'd learned. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Zack had learned a lot by listening—or even half listening—to what Cody had to say.

But even he could see Cody's struggles to not come across so much of a nerd. As it was, no one else could call him that other than Zack. Instead, Zack said, "Nah, we don't have girlfriends right now." He ignored the strange look both Cody and Carey sent his way.

"I find that hard to believe," Grandpa Jim said.

 _Believe me, so do I,_ Zack thought. Then again, it wasn't through lack of trying.

"It's only a matter of time, you'll find the right girl," Grandma Pearl said with an encouraging smile. "Then you'll get married and give us the great grandchildren we've been waiting for." Her comment made Carey, Zack, and Cody equally choke on their bite of food.

"Mom, they haven't even finished high school yet," Carey said. "Give them some time to breathe before even thinking of that."

"You're never too young to start having a family," Grandpa Jim pointed out. He pointed his fork at her. "The most important thing is making sure it's with the right person you can see yourself spending the rest of your life with."

Carey rolled her eyes. "Thanks, dad."

Zack and Cody exchanged amused grins with each other. It wasn't every day their mother got the taste of what it was like to have her decisions commented on. Of course, they didn't like it when their grandparents—specifically their grandfather—had anything bad to say about their dad, but he'd seemed to warm up to Kurt over the years. They interacted well with each other but that didn't mean the comments with an 'I told you so' edge didn't come up every now and then. And he loved his grandchildren, knowing if Kurt hadn't been involved they'd never be around.

Still, with how many lectures Zack had gotten over the years he tended to enjoy watching her own lectures. Even Cody looked to be taking a sense of satisfaction from them as well, watching their mother squirm under her own mother's gaze. They finished dinner and had changed the topic of conversation to the next trip Grandma Pearl and Grandpa Jim were going to take to Appletown, Texas to visit Zack's and Cody's aunt—Carey's sister—Martha. Zack could see his mother slowly starting to become uncomfortable as she always did when speaking about her sister. She'd always felt inferior to her and hearing her parents gush about her didn't help.

At a lull in the conversation Grandpa Jim asked, "Carey, dear, is there any dessert?" Zack tensed at the request. They knew what that meant; every time one of their grandparents asked for dessert it was when serious conversations and lectures were about to be thrown around. Mostly with the topic of their future and comments of their current jobs and studies.

Carey practically leapt to her feet shouting, "I'll go get some! Maybe some ice cream?"

"Now, mom, you wouldn't want to leave them here by themselves," Cody broke in, quickly getting to his feet as he held out his hand. As if holding a rabid dog at bay. Which was almost true considering how fiercely Carey glared at him for stopping her. "They came to visit _you_. You're their daughter."

"No, they came to—"

"—And you know, this may take a while," Zack added. He reached out and shoved Cody back down into his seat. "And I know just the perfect place to go get some. So, Cody, why don't you tell them all about that…science thing you're doing. Better yet, talk about Yale and I'll just go run out and get dessert. Alright? Alright." He patted Cody on the shoulder then reached into his pocket for his wallet, pulling out a twenty and tossed it back to his brother. "I owe ya one!"

It was just as well. That twenty came from Cody's wallet.

Zack raced from the Tipton hotel and started the walk to the ice cream shop. Thankfully, the Tipton hotel was in the best location in the city, smack dab between the middle of the suburbs and downtown, close enough he coudl walk if he wanted. As much as he preferred the drive, he did enjoy walking through the city, it gave him time to clear his head. And he was running low on gas in the car and would prefer to trick Cody into paying for a tank of gas (like he had the past few times).

After a few minutes of walking, Zack arrived at the ice cream shop and started in. Then he glanced into the restaurant across the street and spotted a familiar face inside. He grinned to himself, his mood immediately turning around and he looked both ways before ducking inside. The hostess stopped him and asked what he'd need the second he stepped inside. Zack placed an order and stepped around the hostess, making it seem that he was going to the bathroom. His eyes roved around the dining patrons and the servers that fluidly weaved in and out of tables before he spotted her.

"Hey," he greeted, feeling his nerves strike as soon as the word left his mouth.

Riley Jackson turned to him and flashed a smile, before finishing the transfer of filled glasses to the empty table next to her. "Hey," she finally said, standing up straight. She smoothed her black hair from her blue eyes. "What're you doing here? I thought your grandparents were in town."

"Just getting some dessert," Zack said. He pointed over his shoulder. "Grandpa Jim was asking for some and—"

"—And you wanted to make sure you didn't get stuck with all their questions, yeah?" she broke in, the sweet sounds of her Australian accent reaching his ears. "Good plan." He'd told her many times of how he'd gotten blindsided by a lecture over dessert. She smirked. "But you do know they're just going to get you when you get back, mate."

"Yeah, but I take after my grandpa; once you fill me with food I don't remember much."

"You sure it's just 'cause of the food?"

Zack laughed at the jab against him. He could take it and he enjoyed taking it from her. Apart from Max and Cody she was one of the few who could do so and it was one of the reasons he liked her, though her smarts and memory were a plus. He'd remembered mentioning it to her once before about his Grandpa Jim's habits, a long, _long_ time ago, and she'd remembered!

"You're in a good mood," he remarked. His eyes drifted around the restaurant, taking in the empty chairs. "Slow shift?"

"Just as hectic as ever, but I'm getting some pretty good tips. That seems to trump everything." It was then Zack noticed that her smile didn't reach her eyes. Every few seconds she looked over her shoulder towards the bathrooms, even when she moved to clear the empty table to next to her. "You said you were waiting for your order? I can check on it for you."

 _Is she trying to get rid of me?_ "I only just put it in, so…" Zack licked his lips and flashed a smile. Forced himself to say, "I know I can get on your nerves sometimes, but it sounds like you're trying to get rid of me."

Now she looked him in the eye and he could see the sincerity as she said, "I'm not trying to get rid of you, mate, I'm just stressed." Zack took a quick glance around the dining room once more. It wasn't that packed. As a matter of fact it looked like most of the patrons were on their last bites of food. She noticed his gaze and said, "Not because of that, it's—"

"Excuse me, mate, you're in my way."

Zack turned his head, noticing a teenage boy about his age standing behind him. His dark brown hair was styled in a shaggy cut, freckles spread across his nose, and lips pulled back into a calm smile. His eyes-a dark brown-held steady on Zack's though didn't radiate much life from them. Zack's gaze shifted to Riley seconds after the boy's did and he noticed a strange, almost annoyed expression come to her face.

Tension suddenly rising around them—Zack could swear he thought the temperature suddenly plummeted a few degrees—he figured it out quickly. This guy knew Riley and in a way Zack certainly didn't. And that wasn't good for him or his jealousy.

"Sorry." Zack took a step back and the guy went to the table she had just put the full glasses on.

"No worries," he replied.

Ah, so he was from Australia, too. _Did he come to visit her?_ The slightly paranoid thought came to mind before he could stop it. Yeah, he had a thing for Riley, always had. Didn't mean she was his property. His mother had drilled that into his and Cody's head—that women weren't trophies to be won—even more since Jolie had left Boston years before.

Then the boy said to Riley, "I didn't mean to interrupt when you were at work. I just thought it'd be fun to surprise you."

 _Surprise her?_ Zack watched the exchange, felling his heart sink.

"I was surprised all right," Riley said. Finally she motioned to the boy and said, "Zack this is Ian Hernandez, Ian this is my,"—she paused for a second and Zack could clearly see something in her face change before she placed her hand on his shoulder and said with a smile (one he noticed _did_ reach her eyes)—"my boyfriend, Zack Martin."

"Boyfriend, huh?" Ian repeated the words that had immediately flashed through Zack's head. But he could play a game when needed. No one had ever told him he was a bad actor. "It's nice to meet you." With a grin, Ian offered his hand and Zack shook it. Ian had a firm grip, Zack felt his fingers crush together. "I've heard a lot about you."

"And I…haven't heard much about you," Zack said honestly.

"Ah, I'm not surprised." Ian slid his hands into the pockets. "Riles doesn't really like to talk about home a lot but I'm sure you understand that." He pulled out his wallet and dropped a couple of bills onto the table. Then he all but ignored Zack, addressing Riley once more. "I'll catch up with you tomorrow, okay?"

"Tomorrow's not good for me," Riley said quickly.

"No worries, just give me a call. I'll see you. Hooroo."

Riley waved and tucked her hair behind her ears, letting out a long breath. She rolled her eyes and moved to clear off the table. She didn't speak to Zack or move to make a mention of who the guy was. That was alright, Zack was never at a loss for words.

Zack decided to diffuse the remaining tension. "Boyfriend, right?" He asked. "Or an ex? Can't say I'd blame you. If I ran into any of my exes—"

"—You mean half the population of Boston?" Riley asked, looking over her tip, holding the bills up to the light.

"—yeah, yeah."

"Trust me, mate, he's _not_ my boyfriend and never has been," Riley said. She placed the tip into her pocket and turned to face him, folding her arms.

"Are you sure about that?" Zack asked.

"Just as sure as I am that you're not either," she replied with a teasing grin.

Now Zack grinned. "Now that we got that out of the way, I don't mind pretending to be anyone's boyfriend. I managed to 'date' some pretty good senior girls that way, and even got to date a rich girl by having Cody pretend to be her boyfriend when her dad didn't like me."

"That's a shock," Riley teased.

"I know. Who doesn't think I'm adorable?" He made a show of pouting his lips, making Riley laugh. His ego immediately inflated. Making her laugh was always good. "But since I did you a solid and helped you out, you can help me." Riley lifted her eyebrows. "Who is he?"

"He's a guy I know from back home," Riley explained. "And he decided to come to Boston to visit."

"To visit _you_ or to visit your family?"

That made her pause for a long moment, as if she were trying to figure out the best answer. He had her. "I reckon I'm not sure. I didn't know he was even here until the boofhead showed up."

"You didn't seem so happy to see him," Zack prompted, realizing that was the tension he'd felt earlier that day. He'd gotten a lot of cold looks form her before, not one that was of complete annoyance of his mere presence. Irritation maybe, but not one that could quite literally kill him. "I mean, if he was your friend…"

"He's not really my friend either," Riley interrupted. She turned her gaze down to the table top, drumming her fingers against it.

Now Zack was completely confused. He wasn't her boyfriend, wasn't an ex, wasn't even her friend. And yet he had a warm response to her as if there was nothing going on between them at all. Zack could be slow on some things but he wasn't a completely moron.

"So, what is he?" he finally asked. It couldn't have been much of a secret. "Come on, you can tell me."

Riley lifted her head and studied him for a long moment, her blue eyes locking on his own. Then the corner of her lips turned up and she said, "I can't, actually." With a lift of her chin she nodded behind him, her eyes shifting, and added, "Your order's ready."

Zack twisted around to see the hostess waving to him, motioning to the knotted bag in her hand. It was probably the only time he wasn't happy with the presence of food. Just when he was getting somewhere. Zack turned back in time for Riley to chuckle, say, "Bye, Zack," with a light lift to her voice, and tuck her tray under her arm before disappearing further into the restaurant.

Zack watched her go, waited for what he knew was a good sign. Finally, he got it. Just before reaching the kitchen, Riley turned back and smiled, giving him a small wave, before disappearing inside.

Now he could go.

* * *

 **A/N:** Don't worry, I'm still working on _Intuition._ I just couldn't wait much longer to work on my Zack-centered story. I hope you guys liked the beginning of it. At the moment, I'm thinking this will be set in the same universe/alternate universe as _Save Me From Myself, Help Me Save Me, and Intuition_ but I haven't completely decided yet. Let me know what you think.

Also, for those that prefer canon characters only, I do have one-shots I'm doing that extend on scenes/themes from episodes we've seen of SLOZAC. Go to my profile to check it out.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	2. Two Truths And A Lie

**Chapter Two:** Two Truths and A Lie

* * *

Riley ducked as a football came flying to her head. She stood up and motioned to her brother, who'd jumped over the back of the couch to catch said football that was thrown to him. Patrick grinned, popping to his feet.

"Outside," she prompted, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.

Patrick's eyes shifted aside to face his twin, who was the one who had thrown the ball. Noah's mouth twisted to the side, very reminiscent to the lopsided smile that Patrick always sported, and said quietly, "Uncle Christian said we could throw the ball around."

"Did Uncle Christian also want to have his window broken again?" She asked.

At the same time, Patrick and Noah both frowned, though she could tell they were trying not to laugh. Because she was trying not to laugh either. She and her siblings all had to split the cost of the window once it was broken, mostly because she, her twin Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and their youngest brother Sydney all tried to hide their breaking it—by purchasing what they thought was an identical window and fixing it themselves—instead of telling their uncle in the first place.

Their scramble to fix it had been fun and funny. Very reminiscent to the days they lived in the Tipton hotel, Riley realized, watching as her brothers quickly dashed—football and all-to the back door and outside where Sydney and their cousin, Aaron were playing a game of soccer. Things seemed to be simpler when they were at the Tipton. Save for how often Mr. Moseby yelled at them. _Then again, that's also when you were being beaten on nearly a daily basis,_ Riley reminded herself. A con with a pro. That seemed to be the major stages of her life.

BPD and APD.

The first three letters holding more meaning to her than anyone knew or she'd like to know. Something bad happened that'd off set something good that happened. She could pinpoint every moment of her life where it'd happened and as much as she didn't want to dwell—it got boring fast, honestly she didn't have any idea why so many people wanted to talk about her dead parents so much—sometimes it back to slap her in the face.

Hence her slight apprehension about Ian being _anywhere_ but Australia. She supposed she hadn't lied to Zack per se, she really didn't know Ian was going to be there until he showed up. But she did know he had planned on going to see her at some point. He'd been very clear about that, as he was with a lot of things, until he wasn't. Until he managed to turn into the Hyde others never got to see.

And continued to piss her off with how easily he got away with it. That was the worst part for her, honestly, that no one else got to see it and how she continued to fall for it. He was charismatic, that was for sure, or else she wouldn't have paid much attention to him in the first place. Ian kind of reminded her of Zack in that way and only that way, she couldn't entertain how much else they'd have in common. It'd probably send her more into a tailspin than she already was, barely managing to hold on.

Once her brothers left the living room, the silence of the house stretching around her, Riley sighed. Then gritted her teeth. She wouldn't have to get rid of her brothers if he hadn't been around. Or, if she could put her foot down where Ian were concerned. Somehow, despite being able to say everything off the top of her head with very little filter—and care for what other people thought-went by the wayside.

Riley turned no her heel and went to the pantry. She grabbed a few packets of PopTarts, strategically hidden in the back of the cabinet that held their cleaning supplies, and took them back to the room she shared with her twin sister and her cousin. Riley closed the door behind her with her foot before jumping to the bed set in the center of the room, bringing her legs up before landing on the cerulean-blue comforter—as blue as the ocean.

She bounced a few times, then finally sat still, noticing her cousin staring hard at her. "What?" Riley passed out the PopTarts before tearing into the foil to open her own packet.

"I just finished making my bed," Crystal pointed out. To prove her point, she reached out and smoothed down a crease that had appeared in her comforter at Riley's bounce along the bed.

Riley glanced dismissively at it. Then she smirked over at her cousin, who rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming next. "Then you'll have to do it again."

Crystal couldn't help but laugh along with her twin cousins, continuing to smooth out as much as she could. "What, were you raised by wolves?" She asked. Once everything was in place, she opened her own food.

"No, but that'd be sweet as, yeah?" Rhuben said with a teasing smile. She brushed her hair back from her face, pulling a pair of headphones from her ears to her neck. She reached up and Riley bumped her fist against hers.

"You're all insane."

"I think we established that ages ago when we first moved in," Riley cracked, easily remembering how long it took for Crystal to get used to having her cousins around.

Because, as not many people knew, for a long time, the Jacksons and Mannings were jealous of each other. Crystal—before her little brother Aaron was adopted-was jealous as she had no siblings while Riley and the rest of her siblings were jealous that she, at least, still had one of her parents. Their abuse from Robert aside, it drove a rift between the families that had constantly visited each other to stewing in their own bitterness and jealousy.

When Robert was taken away in handcuffs, Christian Manning immediately found his nieces and nephews, moved to Boston, and moved them all into one house. Crystal, who had been so used to having a small family and space all her own, was shocked to have five of her six rambunctious cousins move into her space.

There were many times Crystal would go to her father and complain prompting Christian to ask, "Would you prefer they go back into the foster system."

Crystal frowned, shaking her head. "I don't want _that_ but…"

"But…"

"They keep touching all my _stuff_! I have no _space_!"

And Christian had laughed, hugged his daughter, and promised everything would be better, that he was sorry he didn't prepare her more, and that he'd find a space for her. It was the attic, which was actually Julius's room when he came to visit, but as he only came to the states when he was on vacation, she used it as a quiet room to retreat to when things became too hectic.

"But if it took you this long to notice it, that's okay, too."

Crystal rolled her eyes. She opened her Pop-Tart and examined it for a minute before breaking off the sides, preferring to only have bites of the crust and filling together, not just crust. "So, what are you going to do about Ian?"

Riley's upper lip curled at the mere mention of his name. She couldn't help it, anything that had to do with him and she viscerally reacted. Someone who was very good at hiding her own worries behind a tough exterior couldn't keep quiet It was the only reason they were barricading themselves in their room, to come up with a plan. But the thought alone still made her want to throw herself—though preferably her tormentor—off the nearest cliff. The violent image in her head of them crashing to the ground said enough. "Nothing."

Rhuben's eyebrows immediately lifted. She gazed at her twin in surprise and concern. Her words were filled with strength as she tapped her finger against the bedspread for emphasis. "This guy came all the way to see you and you're going to do nothing about it."

"What can I do?" Riley hated how helpless the situation was, but, truthfully, there wasn't much she could do.

"Uh, call the bloody police!" Rhuben said with massive amounts of 'duh'.

"And say what?" Riley pursed her lips. She dropped her snack, completely losing her appetite. She rested her chin in her hands. "That a guy I don't like decided to come visit the States and talked to me once. And, oh yeah, I don't like him."

"No!" Crystal's frown deepened. Her eyes flashed. She looked closely at her cousin, saw the frustration within her eyes. There really _wasn't_ much they could do. But the best thing was to at least start a file. "Tell them everything that Officer Clay knows."

Riley couldn't help the fond smile that came to her face. Officer Clay had been part of her and her siblings' life as long as her parents had been dead. He was the first officer on the scene—the scene being their house up in flames—had been the one to advocate for the children as they were asked what had happened, and was the one who did his best to prove what their then foster parent, Robert, had been doing to them until they moved to the US. He'd grown to be a good friend to them all. "I don't think Officer Clay has any jurisdiction over here." Riley then shrugged. "And what has Ian done? The bloke's never hurt me."

Rhuben snorted. "Hasn't he?"

Riley paused. Her hesitation spoke volumes. "Well, not physically," She conceded. Rage slowly started to consume her, the more they spoke about her predicament. Memories of humiliation, frustration, and getting her hopes up all for him to laugh and smirk at her made her want to smack the crap out of him. But he knew all her trigger points, knew what'd get her to lose control and used it against her.

"He manipulated you."

"He can't manipulate me if I willingly went along with it," Riley reminded them. He wasn't the only guilty party in the equation. True, they'd never dated in the sense everyone knew. Didn't go out in public, didn't go to dinner, didn't go to movies, didn't do anything that would've shown others they were something of an item. That should've been her first clue that something was wrong. The others she somehow managed to ignore, simply because—and she hated to admit it—he had taken note of her when she was vulnerable and exploited that vulnerability.

Crystal sighed. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Have you told dad, yet?"

"Yeah, I told him," Riley said. She scratched the back of her neck, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She hated having to rely on telling her Uncle about her problems. He already had enough to deal with; having seven kids under eighteen in his house, working long hours at UMass, and not having a lot of time at the house when he was laden down with papers and tests to grade along with his own research, it was a wonder he was able to give each of them individual attention. "He said he'll keep an eye out."

"Do you think he'd be dumb enough to come over here?" Crystal asked.

Rhuben shook her head. "I hate to say anything nice about the bloke, but one thing he isn't is stupid. He knows exactly how to play a situation to his advantage. He wouldn't jeopardize that."

Riley nodded.

"So, what are you going to do?" Crystal asked again. "Nothing?"

"Nothing," Riley confirmed. She purposefully paused and when she spoke again, her words took on a slightly more sinister tone. "Unless he does something first." She had to, she was tired of him constantly being able to hold power over her. She was stronger now, physically, mentally, emotionally… _If that were the case, then you would've said something when he first showed up._ "Shut up," Riley muttered.

"We didn't say anything," Rhuben pointed out.

"Not you."

"You're losing it, sis." Rhuben swung herself off the bed and moved to the window. She pulled back the curtains and looked out, watching their brothers run back and forth across the backyard, heaving the football directly at each other's heads.

"Not that she ever really had it in the first place," Crystal teased.

Riley picked up Crystal's pillow and whacked her with it before throwing it to the ground, simultaneously giving her the finger with her other hand. There, now she had even more to pick up when she cleaned her part of the room again. Riley glanced at her part and sighed, seeing how much work she still had to do on her own. She'd managed to put it off long enough, planned to clean after her shift at the restaurant and now had no desire to do so. It reflected her life perfectly.

"Haha." Riley ran a hand through her hair, closing her eyes. She'd hardly seen Ian and now here she was, completely shut off in her own room. Fuck that. She was going to have some fun. "What time are Bailey and Max getting here?"

"Half hour, I suppose," Crystal said.

"Okay, I'll clean up and then we can get the food ready."

"You're just saying that so you don't have to try and keep the boys from eating everything," Rhuben pointed out. Nevertheless, she and Crystal left the room to get ready for their sleepover.

Riley set about cleaning up her part of the room. She removed her guitars form being haphazardly strewn across the floor. Moved all her dirty clothes into a large pile, removing the trail it made from her closet to her dresser. Stacked up all the papers on her desk that were needed for homework and upcoming tests. She worked so hard she didn't realize her phone was ringing, sliding across the top of her dresser, until it reached a bare spot, the amplifying sound catching her attention.

Zack's name appeared on-screen and Riley quickly answered it. Had she waited too long, he would've left some sort of a passive-aggressive message about being left for voicemail as he did on all his friends' phones. Except Cody, who he would continuously call because, "no one called him, anyway."

"So, I figured it out," Zack said as soon as she answered the phone. Riley's face screwed up in confusion. He couldn't see her, but she was sure he knew how her face looked as he quickly clarified with, "Why this guy isn't your friend but is someone who came to see you. I figured it out. What he is."

"Oh yeah?" Riley folded her arms. Her lips curled up into a smirk. "And what is he?"

"He's your drug dealer," Zack said. Riley immediately started to smile, doing her best not to burst out laughing. Zack clearly wasn't taking himself too seriously about his guess, she could hear the laughter in his voice as well. "No, seriously. He's pretty shady, you seem to want to avoid him like the plague, and you're really secretive about him. That has to be it."

"Mate, what makes you think I'm on drugs, let alone have a drug dealer?"

"What else could it be? You said he's not your boyfriend."

"He's not."

"And I am?"

 _Oh. That._ Riley sighed, placing her free hand on her hip. She supposed she'd have to talk to him about that sooner or later. It was better to let him know the truth than let him continue to follow along with a lie. "About that. Look, I'm sorry—"

"—What was that?" Zack interrupted.

"I'm sorry—"

"—Bad reception, I've been telling Mr. Moseby he has to upgrade the telephone systems around here. It's the only place that still has landlines in all the suites. You're going to have to say that again."

Riley pressed her lips together. "I'm _not_ saying it again."

"Oh, come on! It's, like, the _only_ time I've ever heard you apologize to me—"

"—That's a lie," Riley swiftly interrupted. "I've apologized to your many times."

"I know. You've had to."

Riley let out a bark of laughter. "Like you haven't needed to apologize for practically everything you do, boofhead," she pointed out. "I have a full laundry list of things that you've needed to apologize for and still haven't yet."

"Well, yeah, but no one ever actually expects me to mean it."

Riley sighed. It created a static sound between the two phones. "Zack."

"Riley," he replied. "You were about to apologize, I'm sorry. What was it you were going to say?" Riley rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "I know you're shaking your head. You're always shaking your head."

"I can't not shake my head when I'm around you, Zack. I do it so much I'm surprised my bloody head hasn't right fallen off." She cleared her throat. "But as for what's happened at the restaurant, I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that."

Zack's voice took on a smug tone. "Are you really apologizing for making it seem like I'm dating the hottest girl in school? I don't know about you, but I don't feel like that's something you need to apologize for." Zack made a show of clearing his throat. "Apart from Amber, I mean."

"You never had a chance with Amber."

"I totally had a chance."

"Yeah, when Vance wasn't around."

Zack paused again, making Riley laugh. She knew he was pouting, just as he always did when Vance was mentioned. Not just because Vance had been Amber's boyfriend, but because he'd been Zack's bully as well. For a long time, Zack had been used to being the top dog. All through middle school he was the captain of every team he played on and had the talent to back it up. Once they started their tenure in high school it all turned to crap faster than he could blink.

His popularity waned. The senior boys taunted and teased him, with Vance going so far as to personally bully him. (Though Zack could admit later it didn't help that he was completely convinced he could sway Amber away from dating Vance to date him). He wasn't the best player on the basketball team anymore, often sitting on the bench for his first year rather than playing point guard. And, of course, the school work got harder. He couldn't play up his usual antics to keep things from becoming too boring. All the teachers were used to his tricks and wouldn't allow him to goof off.

True to form, Zack still tried. But when he saw it wouldn't work, he kept his comments to a minimum, but still didn't try too hard when it came to his homework and test. "What's the point?" He'd always ask when it was brought up. "I'm just going to invent something and make it rich anyway? Then I can pay someone else to do the work for me!"

All until he'd fallen into his eating disorder, anyway. Since then, Zack tended to be more mature about things, Riley'd noticed. Though he was still Zack and Zack wouldn't give up the chance to have fun, even if it were at the most inappropriate times.

"You might have a point," Zack finally admitted.

"There, now didn't it feel good to get that out in the open?" Riley teased. "Hey, I have to go. I need to finish cleaning my part of room or else Uncle Christian won't let us have the girls over for a sleepover."

"If you're in such a cleaning mood, maybe you can do mine after yours. Mom's been getting on me since I haven't cleaned mine yet."

"Zack, yours will take a bomb blast to get rid of everything."

"Yeah, but Mr. Moseby won't let us play with fireworks around the Tipton anymore. I accidentally set his suit on fire once and I'm branded for life."

Riley laughed. "Whatever. I have to go." She started to hang up, but heard Zack call her name, making her replace her phone to her ear. "Yeah?"

"For helping out at the restaurant, you don't have to apologize for that. I would've done it anyway. Though a head's up would've been nice. I could've laid it on real thick, you know. A hand hold, a kiss on the cheek maybe."

"In your dreams."

Zack laughed. "You're right,"

"Bye, Zack. I'll see you later."

Riley hung up. She put her phone back on the desk, but it buzzed again. This time a text. Swiping her finger over the screen, Riley pulled up the message and sighed warily, rubbing at her forehead.

 **Ian:** Come over.

A demand. Not a request.

* * *

 **A/N:** Took me a bit longer to update than I anticipated. Nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoyed a look into what's going on, on Riley's side. I think every chapter will flip back and forth between their POVs.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	3. Background Tension

**Chapter Three:** Background Tension

* * *

 _Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack…clackclackclackclackclack._

Grunting, Zack ripped his head from beneath his pillow and lobbed the offending object to his brother. It whacked Cody across the back of the head, making him cry out as well. Cody glared over his shoulder, making Zack glare back at him before dropping his face back down to the pillow.

"You know, most people like to get at least eight hours of sleep," Zack mumbled, pressing his cheek into his mattress. He squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as he could, hoping to block out the overhead light.

Cody clearly had no sympathy for him as he pushed back his desk chair and walked to the window, throwing the curtains wide open. It made Zack wince and yank his blankets over his head. "And for most people, their eight hours start at a normal bedtime, not five in the morning."

"I got to sleep at three."

"Ooh, an early night for you."

"Just because you can't imagine all the fun you can have late at night…" Zack's lips pulled into a smile, knowing the exasperated expression that flittered across Cody's face, and the embarrassed flush that crept up his neck. No matter how mature Cody tried to be about late-night flicks and typical anatomy lessons from his studies, if it was mentioned in a crude way it made him unable to continue the conversation. And, of course, Zack enjoyed teasing him about it as much as possible. "Doesn't mean you need to take it out on me."

"Trust me, I'm not taking anything out on you," Cody shot back. He then paused and closed his eyes, tilting his chin towards his chest. Zack burst out laughing, pulling the blankets off his face but continued to stay nestled. The air beneath was already starting to get stuffy. "Are you coming to breakfast or what?"

"That depends, are you making that…foy grass thing again?" Zack rolled to his back and pulled the blankets down to his waist, using both hands to wipe his eyes.

"It's _foie gras_ and that's not something you typically serve as breakfast," Cody replied. He dropped back to his chair, looping his arm around the top. "It's made from duck liver and is a luxury food item."

"That explains it, only the rich would be dumb enough to cook a duck's liver and call it food."

"Anyway, I meant are you still coming to breakfast with the guys? We're supposed to plan out the rest of our Spring Break, remember?" Cody eagerly rubbed his hands together. "There's so much that we can do. There's supposed to be this amazing meteor shower and then we can go to the nautical museum and there's an exhibit that's coming where—"

"—You're rather go to a _museum_ than spend the day doing…I don't know?" Zack sat up, dropping his hands to his lap. " _Anything_ else? What's next, you going to tell me that you're going to take us on your dork parade to visit colleges?"

"Well, you may as well check out the community college while you're here, that's where you're going to end up," Cody offered. "I mean, if you don't do anything this week to end up in jail. Whichever comes first, honestly, I'm not holding my breath about either."

A knock sounded at the door to their room and Cody called for whomever was on the other side to come in. Their mother opened the door and poked her head in, not daring to venture any further. Not only had her 'little boys' grown into 'little men' but the accompanying stink that permeated from having two adolescent boys under her roof—let alone Cody's habitual cleaning—wasn't something she'd subjected herself to too much of. Then, of course, the mess that continued to pile up on Zack's side of the room certainly didn't help matters.

"Boys, you're going to be late," Carey said to her sons. "I don't know about you, but as many times as I don't have to cook for you, the better."

Cody gazed at their mother sympathetically. "Ever since you've been following my simple recipes, you've gotten a lot better. _And_ the cake you made the doctor's convention last week only sent two people to the hospital. I call that improvement."

"I call that a case for a lawsuit," Zack murmured, still rubbing his hand over his face. His hair stuck up on end as he did so. He looked sleepily at his mother and added. "Especially since we didn't warn them beforehand."

Carey rolled her eyes, used to her sons' antics. "No, I meant since you're not having breakfast here we can actually save something for dinner." She leaned against the door frame. "I know you want to spend some time with your friends over your Spring Break, but you need to remember you grandparents want to spend some time with you, too."

"We're going to make time for them mom, don't worry." Cody motioned towards his open laptop. "I was just finishing up the schedule to ensure that we make the most out of all our days. I even added in blocks of time to make sure we don't fall behind on our studies."

"That's nice, Cody," Carey said. She ventured further to the room and ran her fingers through Cody's hair. Zack lifted an eyebrow. She turned a serious expression to Zack over her shoulder. "And what kind of studying are you going to do this week?"

"I'm going to study the inside of my eyelids," Zack said. "When I'm not studying all the hot babes at the beach."

"Mhm." Carey's sarcasm was palpable through the one noise she made. Zack smiled, lowering his chin when Carey leaned over to press a kiss to his head. "Have fun today. I think my mom and dad are going to watch some of my rehearsal then I'll take them out to lunch. Feel free to join us later. I think Mr. Moseby said something about getting us reservations to a few restaurants. He even offered to get us Broadway tickets."

"Broadway?" Cody's eyebrows flew up to his hair line. Even Zack couldn't help but make a sound of surprise. Watching plays were one of the least interesting things he could spend his time doing—he preferred to work backstage or not at all after the disaster that was their eighth-grade rendition of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ —but even the luster of Broadway wasn't lost on him. "But that's all the way in New York, why would Mr. Moseby want to do that?"

"Now, Mr. Moseby is a fair and generous man when he wants to be," Carey reminded her sons.

Zack snorted. "Yeah, when he's trying to get rid of us."

"Hey, I don't care if he tries to get us to go to the Bermuda Triangle, it'd be the most vacation I'd get since we first moved here." Carey left the boys' room, closing the door behind them.

Zack slid out of bed, already too awake to go back to even try to get back to sleep. And Cody's constant typing at his laptop wasn't the sort of ambience he wanted for it, either. If Cody so much as asked him what colleges he wanted to go visit he would've bludgeoned him with his skateboard. What was a twin in comparison to peace and quiet?

Zack grabbed his phone and read over the texts he'd received since falling asleep. Nothing too interesting, a reminder from Max to bring some running shoes that afternoon to get a workout in. _To work off the food we're going to be eating?_ Zack sighed and closed his eyes. Closed them against the thought he couldn't help but think.

How long would it be before he could think about foo and not think about getting rid of it right after. He should've been recovering, _had_ been recovering. Hadn't thrown up in ages. What was it going to take for his mind to get back to the way it had been.

When he could eat whatever he wanted and not care. Not that that was the entire truth. Even when he was younger, when he started to gain a bit of weight, he'd spend a long amount of time staring in the mirror at himself. Pointing out his 'problem areas', how his rounder cheeks and bigger stomach wouldn't get girls to like him, how he needed to stay in shape. Had he known how long it had been going on, he might've gotten help sooner.

And, as it was, the idea of Max running him into the ground wasn't without its merits. They weren't dating anymore, but the speed at which she could pull out ahead of him made it easier to look at her butt without getting in trouble for it. Even Tapeworm—who'd been dating her for months—had admitted to the same thing.

Rolling out of bed, Zack went to his dresser and changed his underwear before grabbing a discarded pair of jeans form the floor, grabbing a shirt to go with it—sniffing it for freshness—layered it with a raglan shirt, and grabbed his beanie from the floor. Even as he picked it up, Zack ran a hand through his hair, watching to see how many strands came off in his fingers.

A sigh of relief escaped him, seeing his hand come back clean. Nevertheless, he pulled the beanie up over his hair, tucking every strand inside. He turned to see Cody watching him, turned away from his computer. "If your hair's stopped falling out by now, I think you're fine."

"Oh, and you're such an expert now?" Zack shot back. He immediately lowered his gaze, seeing the hurt that flashed through Cody's eyes. "Look, I know you're just trying to help, but I'd really rather not talk about it."

Cody nodded in agreement. "So do you want me to not say anything when I see the waitresses start to get grossed out by how much you can eat at the buffet?"

Zack laughed. "And not go after my record? I don't think so." He clapped Cody on the shoulder. "By the way, I might need to borrow some money from you."

"When do you _not_ need money from me, Zack?"

"When I take it out your wallet without you noticing." Zack quickly grabbed his shoes and hurried from the room, seeing the stunned expression on Cody's face. It was only a matter of time before Cody had figured out he wasn't, in fact, losing his mind—as far as Zack could tell—but Zack was taking his money.

"That was the money I saved up for my new microscope!" Cody shouted behind him. "Do you know how long it took for me to save for that?" Hopping on one foot, Zack shoved his shoes on, reaching for his keys.

"Bye mom," Zack said.

"Zack!"

"Love you," Carey said toneless, taking a sip of coffee, reading the newspaper.

"Love you!" Zack hurried out the door. He could hear Cody's footsteps behind him and slammed the door shut behind him. He made it to the door that led to the stairs when he heard the door to their suite open and close again.

"Zack!"

Laughing giddily, Zack pumped his legs, holding onto the banister for the stairwell. He charged down all 23 flights of stair, impressed with how closely Cody followed along behind him. Reaching the bottom floor, Zack flew through the doorway and ran out to the lobby. Esteban greeted the two cheerfully as they raced by, prompting Zack to take two laps around the couches with bewildered hotel guests watching them go.

Finally, when Esteban's luggage cart was out of the way, Zack leapt over the couch and raced for the door, Cody forever on his heels. Zack side-stepped Arwin walking across the lobby, head bent over a remote-control contraption in his hands, and careened into the table that sat by the concierge's desk. He barely watched as the expensive vase that sat atop it started to teeter.

Mr. Moseby raced over to grab it before it fell, giving Zack the opportunity to run for the front doors of the hotel.

"Zack!"

Zack and Cody ran down the streets of Boston with Mr. Moseby's disgruntled cry of, "No running in my lobby," chasing them the whole way.

* * *

"You're sweating already?" Max Montgomery asked when Zack and Cody arrived at the restaurant. She lowered her menu and gazed at the twin boys as they dropped into the last empty seats at the table.

"The food here isn't _that_ great, mate," Rhuben added, resting her chin in her palms. She tapped her fingertips against her cheeks, studying her menu. "Believe me, if you saw how it was made you'd probably not want to eat here much."

"Well that makes this sound all so appetizing," Tapeworm said sarcastically. He dropped his menu to the table. "Thanks so much."

Zack laughed. "Like that's going to kill your appetite."

"It won't. I already ordered." Tapeworm's grin made the table burst out laughing. Zack grabbed the menu from in front of Tapeworm and looked it over himself. Not that it mattered really, he got the same thing for breakfast every time he went. One helping of the buffet. That way he could eat whatever he did or didn't want. "All that late night gaming just filled me with empty calories, I'm starving."

"How far did you get this time?" Crystal asked. "Did you beat that level you were working on?"

"No, and I figured out why. There was a bug in the code so I went in and fixed it. But not before letting the developers know. They said they'd give me some sort of monetary compensation for it." Tapeworm shrugged. "All I want to do is get the best out of the game and to make sure that my army is the strongest it can be. I don't need the money."

"You're the only person I know who'd ever say that, mate," Riley said.

"I don't know anything about those video games," Moose Falcone commented. He slouched in his seat, crossing his legs at the knee. "It seems to me they're just a waste of time. Time better spent outside getting some fresh air."

"Come on, Moose, there've been a lot of studies that's proved video games has increased hand-eye-coordination and reflexes," Bailey Pickett reminded her oldest friend and ex-boyfriend. She tossed her hair behind her shoulders and added not-so-modestly, "And so does chasing chickens and wrassling pigs."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, you country folk hate the city and the smog and the fact that we willingly breathe cancer into our lungs," Zack said sarcastically. "Can we just eat please?" He glanced at the menu once more, looking to see if there was a better option for breakfast, then decided firmly on the menu. He thought back to what he had in his wallet and sighed, knowing he didn't have enough. He reached out and tapped Riley's foot with his own under the table. "Can I use your discount?"

She lifted her gaze, slowly smirking at him. "No money again? Didn't Mr. Moseby pay you yet?"

"You can't get paid for advances that you make on your payment," Zack said. She lowered her menu and gave him an incredulous look. Zack shrugged carelessly. "I needed to make some in-game purchases. Is it my fault I need to keep my guilt going?"

"Yes," came the unanimous reply.

"You could always sell something," Crystal pointed out. "Do you have anything that's valuable?"

Cody snorted. "Other than his sense of humor? Which is only good for a few select people; so far he's only managed to get slapped or punched a handful of times." He smirked when Zack shot a glare his way.

"Well, anything's better than giving up my better stuff," Zack said. "I've some duds of baseball cards that even the biggest sports dweeb would want. But I'd never part with more of my prized possessions."

"Like your used tissues and unopened textbooks?"

"Better than that fifty dollar bill you've been holding onto for, what, eight years?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "It's a saving's bond, Zack. It's going to make money the longer you hold onto it."

"For someone who loves money so much, you think you'd know what that is," Max pointed out. She looked around the table with an exasperated expression. "When we were dating he'd keep track of how much he spent and how much I spent. For everything. Dinners, movies, trips to the skating rink."

"Old habits die hard, yeah?" Riley teased. Zack looked at her and she twitched her eyebrows upwards, grinning. Zack grinned back but didn't respond. He could've easily defended himself, but why worry about things that may have had some sort of truth to them.

"See, that's what I mean about you, city folk," Moose continued, slapping the table top with the flat of his hand. "Back in Kettlecorn we worked on the farm from sun up to sun down and the only thing we worried about was how long we could hang on to Big Bertha?"

"A pig?" Tapeworm guessed.

"A bull," Bailey corrected him. She shrugged at the confused glances in return. "When he was a young calf we thought _he_ was a she, but the name stuck. And I guess he doesn't find it very funny." A wistful smile came to her lips. "He gives anyone who dares to get on 'im a wild ride."

"Well, that makes two of us." Zack only made it a few seconds before he laughed, accompanied by the groans of his friends. He held his hands up defensively when Bailey and Max shoved him hard on the side. "Hey, you opened that one up to me, that wasn't my fault."

"Please, Zack, we all know where your mind goes, yeah?" Rhuben pointed out. She waved a straw a thim before dipping it into her glass filled with chocolate milk. "You could mention something as small as…" she glanced around innocently, "Dice and you'd find some way to bring it back to sex."

"Well, not _all_ the time. I have a little more decency than _that_. I _do_ think about video games, you know."

"Uh-huh." Even Crystal looked skeptical. "And how many porno mags has your dad given you?"

"Five or six, I think."

Cody punched him hard on the arm while giving a single, "Zack!" in admonishment.

"Wow." Tapeworm, like Cody and Bailey, had the grace to blush while the others continued to laugh. Their laughter filled up the corner of the restaurant. "I didn't expect you to actually answer."

"It must be the early morning," Zack deduced after a minute of thought. "I'll be honest about anything."

"Really?" An evil grin came to Max's face. She leaned toward her ex-boyfriend, making sure she had him directly in her line of sight. "If that's the case, then when we first started going out, like, the _first_ time I kissed you, did you freak out because that was your first kiss?"

Zack's face twitched. On one hand, she had hit the nail on the head. It had been his first kiss and, honestly, that's what had thrown him off so badly about their initial encounter. He could talk a lot of game, but the thought of kissing legitimately scared him, not knowing what'd come after. A full-blown relationship…fading friendship? Then he'd seen her so dressed up for their date and knew something had happened to him and that he liked it. And yet, he couldn't quite admit it to anyone but himself and Cody, whom he opened to in a rare moment of vulnerability.

They'd talked for a long time about girls and relationships, what kissing was like, and wondered about their own parents' relationship before their divorce. Since then, it was the only time Zack had truly spoken about it. On the other hand, he couldn't allow Max to know that was the truth. How much she freaked him out, she wouldn't let him hear the end of it. And even then, he often wondered if he was her first kiss. He'd often thought so, but there was also the truth in knowing how close Max and Tapeworm had been their whole lives. And considering how Max quickly she and Tapeworm had gotten together…

Zack pointedly ignored Max's question and subsequent triumphant laugh, and tapped Riley with his foot once more. "Can I use your discount or not?"

She tapped her chin in mock thought. "Only if you're nice to me," she finally replied with a cheeky grin, eyes flashing with mischief.

Zack shook his head. "I'm always nice to you." He looked up and quickly gave his order when the waitress came by, Cody giving his as well as a drink order.

"Yeah, when you want something."

Zack grinned flirtatiously and threw a wink to her in addition. "What's better than wanting you?"

For a moment Riley paused, looked as if she were going to give him a disgusted look, then rolled her eyes, shaking her head. It only made Zack's grin widen even further. Funny how something that used to cause him so much confusion, irritation, and consternation was now what got his motor running faster than anything explicit he could ever find online. (Or in the magazine's his father had gifted him).

"You think you can handle all the extra baggage?" Cody asked. Zack glared at his brother out the corner of his eye while Riley turned an offended look Cody's way. Cody held his hand out towards the Australian teen. "I don't mean it like that, Ri, I just mean Zack's been very crude with his way of referring to girls' pasts before." Zack did say the only reason he hadn't seriously considered going after Bailey when she moved to Boston was due to her having only just broke up with Moose. "And from what I've been told, this Ian guy isn't someone you're very excited to be around."

Riley sighed heavily, tilting her head back to look at the ceiling. Zack watched her closely, wondering how much she'd speak about him now, after not having done so before. Zack had run-ins with girlfriends' exes before and even that wasn't as strange a response as he'd gotten with Ian. Usually it was run-ins with his parents that had him react that way.

"We were mates, we had a falling out, that's it," Riley said tonelessly. "And that's the last I'm going to say about it." Rhuben gave her sister a look which Riley returned with lifted eyebrows. Then Rhuben squinted her eyes and Riley tilted her head.

Crystal threw her hands in the air. "You know, that silent conversation thing you do is just as creepy now as it was when we were kids, eh?"

"If only Zack and Cody could do it, too," Tapeworm joked. "That way we wouldn't have to hear them constantly arguing."

"We wouldn't have to argue if Cody wasn't such an uptight nerd who shrieks at everything that moves," Zack deadpanned.

"And if Zack wasn't such an airheaded criminal mastermind my life would be a lot easier."

Bailey sat up straight and quickly rattled off, "Actually, saying that Zack's an airhead and a criminal mastermind is an oxymoron, but it does hold some truth to the fact that when it comes to his street smarts he's a lot better equipped than those well versed in academics."

"Isn't my little Haybale the smartest thing?" Moose asked with a whoop and another slap of his palm against the table. Cody looked offended by the comment and started to protest, but was immediately cut off when the food finally arrived at their table.

Their topics of conversation flowed freely, quickly changing as they enjoyed each other's company and food. Once they finished, Max looked to Zack, tossing her napkin to her plate and said, "Did you remember to bring your running shoes?"

Zack gave her an incredulous look. "Does it look like I brought them? Besides, I already got my exercise in for today." He glanced at the stack of plates in front of him, about five high, and winced. Already his stomach sloshed, filled to the brim. He pushed the creeping thoughts aside and nodded to Cody. "Codes here made sure of that."

" _Cody_ went running?" Rhuben asked.

Cody flushed at her incredulous question. Zack felt a twinge of guilt. It was bad enough to be teased about not being athletic, but by the girl you liked? May as well be torture. "It's not so weird that I want to get some exercise. It _is_ recommended you get thirty minutes a day."

"Yeah, but your thirty minutes is usually when you break a sweat while stretching, little man," Moose reminded him.

Cody stuck his nose in the air. "Nothing's wrong with putting emphasis on stretching. Yoga and Pilates are based in that practice and it can be very strenuous."

"You can outstretch me any day," Zack said, patting his brother on the shoulder. "And you can knit circles around me, too." He could throw his brother a bone but it didn't mean he wasn't still going to put in a small jab when he could every now and then. Zack dropped money onto the table to cover his portion—he'd finally convinced Riley to let him use her discount—and pushed back his seat.

The group all moved to leave, quickly figuring out what they would be doing for the rest of the day and what they'd do when they'd hang out again. Zack hung back and grasped Riley's arm, pulling her a little bit away from the others. "Thanks for breakfast, I owe you one."

"You owe me a lot, actually," Riley corrected him. She started to count on her fingers. "For movie tickets, food at the movies, lunch at school, school supplies, gas money." She stopped counting and tilted her head, looking at him curiously. "Max said you kept track of how much you spent, how come you don't do that with me?"

"Because I know you're good for it." Riley punched him hard on the arm and Zack laughed, backing away from her. "I'm kidding. I'm going to pay you back for all that, I promise. Just…" he paused. "When I get better at handling my money."

"You're good at handling your _own_ money, yeah? But you have no problem spending anyone else's."

"You know, Cody's said the same thing, so I guess he must be telling the truth," Zack commented. "Wouldn't be the first time. Luckily, I'm used to it." Riley smiled. "So, my grandma asked about you," Zack said. Riley looked at him curiously. "She asked if Cody and I had any girlfriends."

Riley folded her arms. Stepped closer to him. "What'd you say?"

"That I don't have one," Zack replied. He lowered his voice to a soothing tone. "You made your point loud and clear and I'm not going to rush you into anything." He shrugged. "I hope you know that by now."

"I do," Riley replied.

Zack sucked air between his teeth and took a step back. "Yeah, you may want to be careful about prematurely using those words in that particular combination." He wiggled a finger to her. "It makes guys feel a little antsy."

"Yeah, I think I get it. The way you nearly jumped out your skin tells me enough."

"I'm just saying it's a big commitment. But all those gifts and cash you get from family may be worth it.

Riley laughed. "Boofhead," She replied. Then she looked at him seriously. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Probably ditching Cody. Same old. Why?"

"Did you want to go out? Find something to do?"

Zack had an idea of what they could do, but didn't say that. Instead, he went with making her laugh. "Oh, I don't know. It's not every day I get asked on a date." Zack hummed, glancing towards the ground. He motioned toward the beanie that covered his hair. "I have to figure out what I'm doing with my hair. And what I'm going to wear. Do I need to bring anything?"

Riley smiled sweetly. "Just your smile."

"I can do that." Zack nodded and shrugged. "I'm not sure what the laws in Boston are about public nudity but I can deal with that." A sarcastic edge came to his voice as he added, "Everyone in the school's already seen me naked, why not the rest of the city."

"I mean, we all thought you were going to end up in jail but I didn't think public nudity would do it, yeah?" Riley looped an arm around Zack's waist and stood on her tip-toes to kiss him.

He was very happy to oblige.

They were dating, they weren't using any official labels and it kept the pressure off. Just like she'd done with Ian. But at least he was the one who got to kiss her.

* * *

 **A/N:** I think before I may have said Moose's last name was Dano off his actor's name, but CeruleanMusings gave him the last name Falcone and I really like it so that's his name now. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well. Writing Zack and Cody's relationship as well as classic Tipton hotel stuff is always fun for me. But, as you can see, things are already starting to get a little tense.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	4. I Hear The Secrets That You Keep

**Chapter Four:** I Hear The Secrets That You Keep

* * *

Riley wondered if it it considered lying if you choose to keep something secret when you know there's no point in mentioning it? Not something like a like being in danger, but something that'd cause unnecessary drama? She wondered if it was some sort of karma falling upon her, for all the lies she'd told over the years.

Truth be told, Riley considered herself to be a fantastic liar. Using the bare minimum to lie to someone, redirecting attention and asking tough questions, throwing in some of her famous—rather, infamous-attitude to get them off her back. How many lies had it been that she'd told? More than enough when Robert was around. How many lies had she told in the last day? Enough that it made her guilt—which admittedly didn't show up too often—run into overdrive.

Zack was a habitual liar, but over things that were small in comparison. Not wanting to get in trouble for not doing his homework. Not wanting to do his chores and forcing Cody to do it. Coming up with ways to skip class. Little things.

Not big things that had a lasting impression on life. Riley reached up her hand, ran her fingertip down the scar settled on her cheek. How had she explained that away? Oh. Right. A chuckle escaped her lips. She managed to make them think she as joking.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did, mate."

"What happened to your…?"

 _What happened to your face? What'd you do to your face? What happened to your cheek?_ She always gave a smile, a disarming one, and would say, "I got hit with a vase." Truth be told, she couldn't remember if it was a vase or a lamp. She couldn't quite imagine Robert owning a vase, now that she thought about it. He was very modern in his tastes and vases were very…antique. Either way, it was enough for her to lose a few hours—days?—of her memory. Black holes of darkness that plagued her on even her best of days. Tortured her on her worst. No matter how hard she strained, it wouldn't come back. All she could remember was a snarling face, a scream of rage, and the initial smack before she woke up in the hospital with a hole in her face that'd been hastily stitched shut and a cover story being harshly whispered into her ear.

A cover story was no longer needed when no one believed the truth in the first place. How many times had she come out and said, "my father beats me up?" only to get laughter in response? Too many times to even care anymore. The laughter had stabbed like knives, pinning her to the reality that it wouldn't end anytime soon.

The truth about the morning she met her friends for breakfast? The truth about what spurred her to ask Zack on a date that night was that she felt…a mess of emotions. Angry. Guilty. Humiliated. Confused. Emotion she didn't deal with very well.

Riley's feet bobbed up and down, rapidly beating the floor. Elbows resting on her knees, clasped hands covering her mouth. Her body rapidly vibrated. She brought her teeth to her fingernails, started to chew, then dropped her hand once more. She dropped her hands, paused, ran them over her face, then started to rub her arm. Needed to feel something. _Anything_ that wasn't embittered pain.

 _"So, what's up with this guy that you're seeing?"_

It'd been the first thing he'd said when she arrived at his place. Couldn't keep herself from responding to his text. There were too many curiosities she couldn't quell despite the pull of never wanting to see him again. But, she was savvy enough to know how weird it'd be. She'd even said right out he came to visit. How odd would it be if she were to completely avoid someone who traveled thousands of miles to visit? Her friends were smart enough to already note something of distrust about him.

If she wanted to keep them from getting closer, she'd have to bite the bullet and see him at least once, right? Or that was what he wanted. He'd smirked at her as he opened the door to his room at the St. Mark—thankfully he wasn't staying in the Tipton.

So close and yet not far enough away.

So much so that when she reacted in surprise, not expecting the question, he hardly reacted. Merely leaned against the doorframe and looked at her, waiting for a response. Realizing he wasn't going to get one, Ian stepped back and allowed her in. Riley took a cursory look around the hotel suite.

Nothing like the Tipton, that was for sure. The layout of the room was similar, stepping into the kitchen upon entering the suite. The living room just beyond that, the bathroom around the bend, then the bedroom. Ilsa certainly had her work cut out for her to make sure the St. Mark hotel could best the Tipton. As far as Riley could tell, it was a close call between those that booked either hotel. If that angry vein atop Mr. Moseby's forehead continuously throbbing had anything to say it was the stress the rivaling hotel was putting on him.

It was enough to take his attention of Zack and Cody for the time being. Even Cody was starting to miss the hotel manager screaming at them for every little thing. Not enough to get him back into his pranking hi-jinks no matter how much Zack begged him.

"I mean, I get why you acted so cold at the restaurant, yeah?" Ian continued, dragging Riley's suspicious gaze to him. "You were working. I know how aggro you get about that sort of thing. I should've remembered."

"You never remember anything that doesn't have to do with you," Riley pointed out.

Ian blinked at her. "That's a bit harsh."

A sarcastic laugh escaped Riley"s lips. "Compared to the way you hurt me—"

"Hurt you?" He looked amused. "I never bloody touched you." Riley gave him a 'yeah, right' look that made him backtrack his statement. "Right…but not in a way you didn't want, yeah?" It wasn't the point she was trying to make and yet he still knew how to hit her where it hurt the most.

At that, Riley winced. She immediately regretted it. Hated it. Hated how easy it was for him to still use her vulnerabilities against her. All because he was the biggest offender against them. Just swooped in like a bird of prey and made himself a strong pier in a storm she'd been brewing. Growing up with a man that did nothing but tear down her self-esteem and beat her for control, it was easy for her to project her feelings of being wanted and loved onto someone who gave her the slightest bit of attention. It didn't mean it gave him the right to equally tear her apart.

"You didn't answer my question. What's with this guy that you're seeing now?" Ian turned to his suitcase and flipped off the top with a flick of his wrist. He hardly glanced at the things inside, grabbing piles and tossing them aside. Robotic. "What's his name, again?" Ian pretended to think about it, snapping his fingers. "Zeke?"

"Zack," Riley corrected. She knew he knew his name. Committed it to memory the second it was mentioned. But she didn't bother to call him out on it. The shark-like smile on his face at her correction was enough to prove it.

"That's it."

Immediately, Riley felt defensive. Not ashamed, never ashamed. Defensive over whatever mean thing that could be said. Got ready for a retort that'd at least get the other person to feel even slightly bad about it. "What about him?"

"That's just it." Ian flicked his bangs from his face. "I reckon I'm curious about him. He must be something special if _you_ want to date him." He looked pensive then added dismissively. "Not that a lot of your boyfriends have been winners."

Riley snorted. Her eyebrows lifted and a smirk came to her face. "Do you add yourself to that list?"

Now Ian snorted. "I was never your boyfriend."

"Exactly."

Finally, Ian made a face. Absolutely offended. "Oh, don't be so dramatic!" Then he blinked and shook his head. "Hate to say it, mate." He folded his arm sand shrugged. "But I don't really see what you see in him."

 _I could say the same about you,_ Riley thought. Was smart enough not to say it out loud. "All the things no one else does," She said honestly. And she'd told him so, when she finally told him how she felt.

 _"I wish other people could see you the way I do."_

 _"Right back, atcha," he replied with the biggest grin she'd ever seen._

How many times had she sat back and watched as Cody, his parents, and a lot of other people did nothing but tear Zack down with all his faults? Too many times. She hadn't realized it bothered her so much until she'd finally admitted how she felt him. "Plus," she shrugged modestly. "He makes me laugh."

"With his looks, he should."

"Watch it." A dangerous tone entered Riley's voice. Her shoulders hunched, muscles tensed, ready tot fling her into fight response. Now he wasn't talking about just Zack, he was talking about Cody, too. And the last thing she'd let happen was have them be compared. Being a twin herself, she knew how absolutely frustrating it could be at the best of times. And downright shitty at the worst.

"Ooh, touchy." He held up a finger, pointed it at her. Pointed it between her eyes. "Careful not to lose your temper." His voice turned malicious. Taunting. "We know where that leads, yeah? How long ahs it been since you last lost it?" His grin widened. "Better question; how much longer until Zack figures out the real you? Your friends? The apple can't fall far from the tree, even if that tree is fucking poisoned in the first place."

Riley scowled. "Shut up."

"Fine, since you want to call the shots this time…" Ian licked his lips. Paused. _And he said I was being dramatic. _"How's that eating disorder working out for him?" Riley stared. Her lips parted, she strained her muscles to keep her mouth from dropping completely open in shock. "How'd I know? Please. His entire being screams insecure." Ian gestured with his hand. "I don't know many guys who'll look at any of the bloody food in that place and not want to devour it." He reached up and mimed pinching his cheeks. "Not to mention he's got that chipmunk cheek thing that happened with Rhu." Ian barely blinked when he noticed her move away from him. "Where are you going?"

"Where the fuck do you think I'm going?" Riley spat with so much vehemence she started to shake. She hated him so much. "You think I'm going to stick around and listen to you shit on my friends and my sister? Fuck you!"

Immediately, she thought back to one of the last times they spoke to each other. Where she was breaking up with him, finally ending their monotonous and torturous cat and mouse game that she always lost. A relationship that was never really a relationship where he called all the shots and she followed along with her tail between her legs.

That say, she stood firm. Waiting for his response to her calm, cool statement of, "I'm done." And waited. And waited. The waiting was the hardest part of the process, she'd realized. And as she watched him watch her, she knew he wanted to say something but was working to come up with the right words for it. She wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say—which unnerved her, usually being able to read people at the drop of a hat—but could feel the thick tension that lingered in the room.

"What?" He asked. A word so flat it may as well have bene a bomb that'd gone off.

"I'm done," she repeated.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He continued to press. Not believing her. The way his eyes flickered over her face said it all. "It's over?" he pressed.

That made Riley sneer. "It never even fucking started, boofhead." Her words dripped with venom. "You made sure of that."

The room fell silent once more. Funny, how before she came to enjoy the silence. Came to enjoy the times where Robert wasn't screaming, yelling, and threatening them. Funny how she came to enjoy it as much as she enjoyed hearing the sounds of her siblings' loud laughter when fully allowed to let loose. At that moment, she couldn't stand it. It made her hair stand on end. Felt the danger that was coming toward her.

Ian shook his head. He appeared stunned, unable to fully grasp the situation. Finally, he moved to get off his bed. Riley stood stock-still, keeping her feet planted firmly.

"Are you joking?" He asked.

"Does it sound like I'm fucking joking?"

Ian rolled his eyes. "Oh please. Don't make it as if you gone through some sort of trauma while we've been together."

A hollow laugh escaped her lips, "That's just it. We weren't together. You and she are but not me. I'm not in that equation."

"So, what, you think I was using you?" he accused her.

"Of course." He kept coming closer, she continued to stand her ground. She wouldn't fall into his trap. Not again. "But we were using each other." A lie. She hadn't used him for anything. What she felt was real. Real enough, anyway. She wasn't sure how much of it she truly believed and how much she tricked herself into believing because she was desperate.

Ian reached out to touch her, to brush her hair back from her face. Riley flinched and shied away. He dropped his hand to his side, anger flashing through his eyes. It always started like that. A simple touch and she was gone. Maybe if she had more will power. Or maybe if she wasn't so goddamn afraid all the time!

She was getting angry and he was getting cockier. "Don't fucking touch me," she hissed with enough rage that he did take a step back from her. She scoffed, shook her head. "I hate you."

"No, you don't." He said the words so calmly, so smugly, that it was enough for her. She was done and ready to leave. He'd never see her again. Boston was looking too good at the moment. It wasn't her home, but the last place she wanted to be was where there was too much of her past to torment her. No matter all the good memories; no matter leaving her mother and father behind.

 _I know, but I wish I did._

The thought horrified her. She hated him so much and yet…couldn't hate him. She'd managed to push thought aside. Out of sight, out of mind. But now that he was back, now that he was in Boston, now that he was _so close,_ threatening everything she'd worked for to be better—to be _good_ —it was more than she could take.

"Fine, then go." Ian waved his hand. "I don't know why you wasted your time."

Riley's face twitched in outrage. " _You_ were the one who called me over here."

Ian tilted his head to the side. His face remained oddly blank. He studied her a long moment. The corner of his lips pulled back. He pointed at her and said, "But you didn't have to come." He righted his head. "Why _did_ you come, anyway?"

Anger flashed over her face, though she didn't respond. Ian's smile, nevertheless, widened. "I get it," he remarked. "I mean, considering how long it's been since we've seen each other—"

"—Why are you here?" Riley interrupted. Ian's eyes flashed to her, but she kept her gaze on him. She wasn't going to back down. Not this time. "Why are you here in Boston?"

Instead of giving her a direct answer, as he'd grown to expect of her, Ian lifted an eyebrow. "Not what you're thinking, yeah? You must have a big ego if you think I came here for you." He folded his arms, mouth tightening. "Right, my parents and I came here to visit some schools. We used to live here because of dad's job and I always wondered what it'd be like to come back. It was as much of a surprise for me to know you were here. Every bloke and their mum doesn't seem to know you and your family went after you left." He waved his hand. "Just every now and then you pop back into Sydney like fucking daises." He then added, "Seems like you've made a good life for yourself out here."

The only complement she could remember him giving her.

A wry smile came to Riley's face. She turned on her heel, heading toward the door. Ian's voice made her blood run cold then burn with rage. "When am I going to see you again?"

She jerked her head over her shoulder and asked, "How's your girlfriend, doing?"

He smiled.

And so, she had to lie. Because, the truth was, he knew something about her she wanted to keep a secret. She wanted to be the first to tell it.

* * *

 **A/N:** There are going to be some pretty happy/fluffy/feel good moments within this story romantically as well as with friends and family despite this story focusing on Zack and Riley. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this insight into what's going on.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	5. It's All Just A Matter Of Opinion

**Chapter Five:** It's All Just A Matter Of Opinion

* * *

Typically, when dinner was called, the smell of whatever was the main course would permeate the area around the kitchen. When Cody was cooking it was some of the most delicious smells that could Carey and Zack could ever smell. Often rivaling that of what Chef Paolo could cook up for the hotel restaurant. To the point that Zack had returned to the suite many times to find residents of the nearby suites lining up at their door, wondering what smelled so good.

Of course, Zack had tried to make money off it. But, like the time Cody made cookies for the dentist's ball, he pushed too hard in the catering business, making Cody drop out of it fairly quickly. Especially after showing Zack multiple charts, facts, and figures of how they were losing more money than making it, and reminded him that Mr. Moseby would inevitably catch them. (Of course, that ended up happening about five minutes later, when Mr. Moseby stormed to the apartment and accused them of stealing money from the hotel). The catering business didn't last long, but Cody still took time to make dinner for the family to practice his skills when he felt the need to try out a new recipe or to make sure their father had food.

When Zack tried to cook, often he would order something from take-out, pretend he'd made it, and something of his own to keep up the story. At least, that was his plan until the one time during a round of online video games he'd forgotten a pile of Chinese food steaming in a pan, nearly catching the kitchen and suite on fire. He wasn't allowed to cook after that.

Carey, on the other hand, was probably one of the biggest reasons as to why Zack lost weight and Cody managed to become so scrawny, at least as they said it. They had to learn how to survive off lunch at school and whatever food they could stash away, not wanting to potentially poison themselves on their mother's food. Or, as Cody diplomatically stated, "if her cooking was considered 'horrible' it means she got better."

So when they sat down for dinner that night and Carey lifted her plate, immediately bringing it to her nose to smell it, Zack wasn't too surprised. Many times they'd managed to keep themselves from laying out for days from noticing a bad smell of the food before ingesting it. Though, the only time Cody ever had a bad mark against his attendance record was for a solid week of food poisoning after his mother decided to take advantage of a sale of oysters and other seafood at Cheap Charlie's.

"What are you doing, dear?" Grandma Pearl asked, noticing her daughter nearly faceplant into her plate of spaghetti.

"Does anyone else smell that?" Carey asked. She leaned back and looked around at her family, a trace of concern on her face. "I'm pretty sure spaghetti isn't supposed to smell sweet. Maybe the meat went bad."

"It's fine, mom," Cody replied calmly. He cheerfully spun his fork in the spaghetti, using a spoon to make sure he was exhibiting his good manners as always. Next to him, in comparison, Zack shoveled forkful after forkful into his mouth. Clearly starving for good food after years of having to figure out what was safe to eat and what wasn't. "Meat doesn't smell sweet when it goes bad. Trust me, if you've been in our room enough, Zack's dirty dishes would let you know."

"And that's exactly why I don't go into your room," Carey replied. "The last time my eyebrows nearly blew off from the fumes. I can't imagine I'd do anything short of pass out next time."

"It's me," Zack mumbled around a mouthful of food.

Carey put down her fork. "Are you seeing how long you can go without bathing again? You know what happened last time, are you sure you want to go through that again?"

Zack felt his cheeks enflame at the memory. Sure, it had been a stupid bet. Not even a bet, really. A superstition among the basketball team. They'd been on a winning streak since the day Zack hadn't been able to take a shower after his basketball practice—the water pressure in the gym was too low and he was already running late to get Cody back to the Tipton in time for one of his 'dork meetings' where he did video chats with other people who thought they were smarter than everyone else. ("They're some of the best young minds out there, why _wouldn't_ I want to talk to them?" Cody defended himself).

And for the next week or so, Zack would feign showering and spray cologne, body spray, even air freshener on himself to keep their winning streak going. A few nights sleeping on the fire escape out their suite room and he got over it. Not that there weren't any drawback son his part; none of his friends could stand to be around him for more than a few seconds, and girls _certainly_ didn't want to be around him.

"No, I have a date," Zack replied.

Grandpa Jim's eyebrows rose. "I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend."

"I don't," Zack said honestly, but not without a little bit of frustration in his voice. Whether it was from the conversation topic or what Zack's words really meant, Cody wasn't sure. Nevertheless, he watched his twin brother's face in case he flashed a signal that he needed some help.

Now Grandma Pearl looked confused. Even a little disapproving as she shook her head. "Young folks these days, they don't know how good they have it. When I was your age, I was already being courted to be married to a nice man my parents picked out and none of you can figure out whether or not you are or aren't dating someone?"

"I thought you didn't meet daddy until you were twenty," Carey pointed out.

Grandpa Jim smiled. "She didn't."

"Wait, so what happened to the other guy?" Cody asked, interested in the story.

Zack gave him a quick, thankful wink of his eye. Lectures were one thing, for them to meddle in their love lives was another. Their grandma spent a lot of time sending them newspaper clippings and articles about the dangers of dating as of late; especially when it came to making sure they weren't doing things that'd later get them in trouble.

"Well, let's just say that I had a very long conversation with him and the next day he decided to leave town," Grandpa Jim said. He shrugged, still casually eating his spaghetti. "Last I heard he wasn't supposed to be leaving for another month or so and Pearl really didn't want to go, I just made sure he knew that."

"What'd he do?" Now Zack was interested. He turned a curious glance to Grandma Pearl, who did no more than roll her eyes, grunt, and shake her head. It was quite for a few minutes with Zack breaking the silence to ask, "Did you beat him up?"

"I don't think this is a good conversation to have," Carey jumped in, making her father's smile widen. "Not over dinner, anyway."

"Oh, come on," Zack whined. "That means it's a good story."

"Yeah, you never let us hear the good stuff," Cody agreed.

"Well, do you want to hear about the night you two were conceived?" Carey asked sarcastically. "Let me tell you, _that's_ a good story." She laughed when Zack and Cody both shared looks of horror. "I knew that'd shut you up."

"And scar us for life."

"I wasn't going to tell you the details, but the night in general sure was interesting. I don't know how many people can take a cross country road trip to see a concert and _not_ want to kill each other." Her voice turned dry. "Especially after he left me at a rest stop twice."

"I always told you that man was a bum," Grandpa Jim pointed out.

"Jimmy," Grandma Pearl warned.

As if knowing he was being spoken about, Kurt burst through the door of the apartment, tossing a spare card key aside. "Hey everybody, what's going on?" He asked, throwing his leather jacket aside with flourish. "Is that spaghetti I smell?"

"Dad!"

Zack and Cody leapt from their seats and rushed to their father, giving him a tight hug. Zack ducked his head away when Kurt reached up to ruffle his hair, the same way he did when he greeted his son's. Cody, on the other hand, took it before swiping a hand over his head to move everything back into place. Kurt looked at Zack curiously, lifting his hands as he backed away.

"Whoa! I didn't realize you cared about your hair so much," Kurt said. "I mean, I know it's got to look good for the ladies, but make sure you don't take it as far as your mother does." He gestured toward his ex-wife's shoulder length brown hair. "She's dyed it so much to take out the premature gray I'm surprised it hasn't fallen out."

"How's that wig treating you, Kurt?" Carey called back. Her eyes flickered towards his hair as she rested her chin in her hands, giving him a pleasant smile. "It looks like you've found some good glue to keep it on."

"What are you doing here, dad?" Cody asked, quickly breaking through the tension that immediately rose through the suite. Cody placed his hand son his hip, focusing his gaze on his father, pointedly looking away from his grandparents. "I thought you weren't supposed to be back for another week."

"I came back early," Kurt explained. "We finished recording our demos faster than we thought so I decided to come back and see my family." He passed a wide grin around the suite, that slowly faded as the seconds passed. "But it seems like the arctic in here." He leaned toward the pot of sauce and sniffed. "And what's that smell? Did the meat go bad?"

Once again, Zack explained it was him that smelled sweet. _Maybe I shouldn't have gone with the cologne from Cheap Charlie's,_ Zack thought. "I'm going out after dinner," he explained instead.

"Whoa, that's awfully brave of you to decide to eat something garlicy before a date," Kurt pointed out. He waltzed to the kitchen and took a plate, filling it with food before bringing it to the table. Grandma Pearl and Grandpa Jim didn't move to make space for him, so Zack and Cody moved their chairs aside while Carey looked nervously between her parents and ex-husband. "I hope you plan on brushing your teeth for hours."

"It'll still be longer than he's brushed within the last seventeen years," Cody pointed out.

"At least I have someone who wants to kiss me," Zack shot back. "Your idea of a good date is reading poetry that no one understands and counting how many stars are in the sky. If the boredom doesn't kill your dates, it's no surprise they don't want to kiss you by the night's end."

"So, you're still going strong with Riley, huh?" Kurt asked. He grinned at his eldest son. "And to think there was a time where she'd nearly punch your lights out the second you talked to her."

"She still does," Cody said. "The amount of times Zack manages to say something stupid, I'm surprised she hasn't knocked out the last of his brain cells. But they seem to be hanging on pretty strong."

"I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend," Grandma Pearl repeated, noticing Zack hadn't really answered her question before.

"I don't," Zack repeated. He didn't really want to go into the details, instead opting to say, "We haven't really talked about it yet."

Grandpa Jim grunted. "Well, I'd be careful. It just means you're giving some other men room to swoop in and take what they want."

"Not that girls are any objects that can be taken or prizes to be won," Carey interrupted, giving her father a pointed stare.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Zack and Cody droned, waving their hands in the air.

And yet, Zack thought about it for a minute. Couldn't keep himself from doing so. It wasn't that he thought Riley would cheat on him, he didn't treat any of his girlfriend's badly enough to have them cheat on him—as far as he was concerned. And he'd, technically, never cheated either. But that didn't mean he didn't wonder what would happen if someone he was seeing was taken from him. Again.

He'd gotten over Max and Tapeworm getting together. But the nervousness remained. The wonder. The fear. The insecurity. It all swirled around him, making him wonder how long it would take before she'd see she could be with someone else and leave him. Probably the same she felt about him, if he were being honest. His reputation didn't help things, he could admit that. But what Riley was doing was different.

Clearly this Ian guy meant something to her if she were really trying to keep him a secret. That much was obvious, no matter how much she tried to deny it. If they weren't friends and he wasn't their boyfriend, then what was he? As much as she told him to forget about it and to not worry, his curiosity got the better of him. Or, if he were a bit more honest, his insecurity did.

The guy was good looking, he could admit that. _Maybe not better looking than me,_ Zack thought. But still good looking. And he had some sort of past with her that he didn't know. Just like a lot of her past was. She'd make offhand comments about her life in Australia every now and then but there was still a lot of things he didn't know. Truth be told, that was part of the reason he was interested in her from the beginning; that there was something mysterious about her, something she was holding back from him.

 _At the time you thought it was cool,_ Zack reminded himself. Too many girls would spill their guts to him the second he showed any interest. Not that that was inherently a bad thing, but when he was thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, the last thing he cared about was what 'baggage' they were carrying. Riley, on the other hand, refused to tell him much about herself until they started to become friends.

"Self-preservation," she would explain later. "If people don't know about me, they can't use it against me later. Plus,"—she shrugged—"We moved so much that I never saw the point of getting to know anyone, but it looks like I'll be here for a while, yeah?"

"Besides, Zack wouldn't be the one who had her stolen away," Cody continued. "Sooner or later she's going to see for himself how bad he is and leave herself."

Zack took the joke in stride, having said the same thing to Cody many times before, though mostly pointing out his lack of masculine qualities, and shoved his brother on the shoulder. Zack tapped his fork against his side of his plate, pursing his lips.

"You look like you've got something on your mind, buddy," Kurt said gently. If there was anything Kurt _couldn't_ be accused of, it was of not loving his kids. The fact that he could understand his kids' wants and needs from one look on their face, it was enough.

Sure, before he moved to Boston he tried to buy their affection, Zack remembered. He cringed, thinking about how he'd stowed away on his father's bus the time he thought Kurt really wanted him to go along with him. But his father had grown since then. Apart from many moments of showing his irresponsibility and childlike behavior, Kurt was the best father Zack could ask for.

"Well," Zack said slowly.

"Is everything okay between you and Riley? Are you having some sort of problem?"

"Not really?" Zack phrased it as a question. Then he pushed his plate away from him and rested his arms on the table top.

Cody's eyes widened. He gulped loudly. "Uh-oh, he pushed his plate away. This is serious." He tilted his head. "Does this have to do with Ian?"

"Who's Ian?" Carey asked.

"Are you dating a guy?" Grandma Pearl jumped in. "Is that why you say you don't have a girlfriend? Is Riley your boyfriend?" She reached out and patted Zack's hand. "Sweetie, you know your grandfather and I will always love you, no matter what or who you love and—"

"—No, I'm not _gay!"_ Zack quickly interrupted, eyes flying wide open. On one hand, he was grateful his parents were so progressive—though wasn't quite too sure considering how his grandfather was staring at him—but he had no idea where they would've even _thought_ it was true from how often they said he was just like his father in the romance department. "I'm just…confused." And so he explained everything that'd been happening the last couple of days and how he wasn't sure what to do about it.

"Well, honey, it sounds like you just need to give Riley the chance to talk about it on her own terms," Carey said gently. "You can't force someone to talk about things when they don't want to. And it sounds like something that's really private to her."

She looked over at Kurt, who coughed, 'hypocrite' into his closed fist. He continued coughing for a few moments, to cover up his indiscretion, then noticed his ex-wife glaring at him. "What?" He asked. "I was just trying not to choke on this delicious spaghetti."

"Is there something you'd like to say, Kurt?" Grandpa Jim asked.

Grandma Pearl immediately noticed her husband's change in demeanor and grasped his thigh. "Jimmy," She warned.

"Nah, nothing." Kurt waved a hand. Like Zack, he tapped his fork against his plate. "Just, it's funny that you say you shouldn't force people to talk about things because that's exactly what led to our divorce."

Cody's face twitched into a look of confusion. "What did she force you to talk about that led to your divorce?"

"Our divorce," Kurt and Carey harmonized.

Carey shook her head. "Kurt was never around for me to tell him how unhappy I was. So when I _did_ try to tell him, he'd deflect me until I had no choice but to say I wanted a divorce and he wasn't going to change my mind."

"And I didn't want to talk about it because I didn't want to think about losing my family," Kurt said. hand.

"You sure were thinking about your family when you were out partying all night."

"I told you, those were networking parties. It would've given me a better chance to make the connections I needed for our band to get bigger. Come on, Carey, we've talked about this before. It's not like it was any different than those networking parties you went to!"

"Yes, but as soon as I had Zack and Cody to worry about, I stopped going because I was taking care of our babies."

"I was, too."

Cody leaned to Zack. He spoke in a low whisper, keeping his eyes on his parents, especially when his grandparents joined in on the discussion. If things got to be too heated, and Grandpa Jim did tend to become passionate about his thoughts, they wanted to get out of the way as soon as possible. "You better run, this doesn't seem like it'll end soon."

"What about you?" Zack whispered back.

"Save yourself," Cody joked. He reached out and grasped Zack's shoulder. "I'm staying in tonight anyway, I've got some stuff I need to finish before break starts."

"I thought you already finished your homework," Zack said. He was sure at some point Cody said something about it. He'd stopped paying attention shortly after Cody started to explain what it was about, or maybe put a mental block on it like everything academic.

"I did, I'm working on my teacher evaluations. There's a lot I need to say about Principal Forgess's ability to hire the faculty of our school, especially since I'm not sure Mr. Blanket has the credentials to take over our gym requirements considering the inane practices he uses as a guidance counselor."

For once, Zack had to agree with his brother. Nevertheless, there was a knock on the door to the suite that made Zack immediately push his chair back and practically fly to the door. He pulled the door open in a flourish, making Riley, who was about to knock again, jerk her hand back in surprise, eyes widening.

"How ya going?" She asked. Her eyes searched his face. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine," Zack said quickly. _Saved by the bell._ "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, aren't we going out?" Riley asked. "I'm pretty sure I said the words, 'want to go out tonight?' earlier today, yeah?"

"No, I meant—" Zack ran a hand over his face. He could still hear his family arguing behind him with Cody trying to appease the tow of them, his words lost beneath the bickering of their parents and their grandparents all talking at once. A storm that brewed every time they were together that threatened to tear things apart if it gained too much power.

"I knew what you meant, boofhead, I was just giving you a rough go at it." She then answered his unasked question to explain, "I thought I'd pick you up." Riley continued to look at him curiously. No, not curiously. Somehow, as always, she knew exactly what he was thinking and feeling. It'd thrown him off the first time she exhibited to him how perceptive she was. He had been having a very bad day, one that not even his brother noticed.

She'd taken one look at him, beautiful blue eyes taking him in for a second, and said, "I reckon you've got something on your mind, mate." It equally surprised and humbled him. Just like it did in that exact moment when she placed her hands on her hips and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Zack watched her closely. Taking in everything about her, as he did when he first saw her. Sure, to him, it looked like she was moving in slow motion at the time, giving him the opportunity to openly stare while he figured out the best way to approach her. But instead of seeing the girl whose face could immediately turn into a troubled expression that he hadn't recognized was the face of a stone wall coming up to keep everyone out, he saw a beautiful girl who's defenses were down, and was completely relaxed.

Zack felt a sense of pride, knowing he was the reason for it. Pride and fondness. This was a girl that gave him plenty more chances than he deserved and patiently, yet harshly told him off when he became too sorry for himself.

"Everything's fine," he said honestly. He called goodbye to his family, closing the door behind him. "Especially now that you reminded me that I'm not paying for anything tonight because _you_ asked _me_ on this date." He flattened the tip of her nose with his finger. Riley batted his hand away as the two headed down the long hallway to the elevator. "Hmm. What do I want to eat? I hear the lobster is good this time of year."

"Nice try," Riley replied. She reached out and rubbed his stomach. "But I smelled the spaghetti all the way down the bloody hall. You already ate. Which I was hoping for." She smiled teasingly. "The last thing I need is for you to blow all my money on food, hey?"

Zack wagged a finger in her face. "You asked me on a date and on dates you get food and do some sort of activity." He placed a hand on his chest. "Now, I want to make sure we do things right. I'm committed to this sort of thing."

"Please." Riley rolled her eyes. "The only thing you're committed to is your cell phone plan."

"Mm." Zack put his arm around Riley's shoulders and pressed a kiss to her head.

As of late, and as he realized with growing surprise every day, that wasn't quite true.

* * *

 **A/N:** So, as I typically do at the odd time of year, I was re-reading some of my old Suite Life stories and one-shots and after getting past my original amount of cringe, I realized (while laughing so hard) that when initially writing Zack and Riley together, I actually wondered why he would even like her considering how much of a sadistic jerk she could be to him. In one one-shot, her point was to make him cry just to get back at him for annoying her. What?

Lol. Anyway, it was nice to see how I managed to change their relationship to be more natural and realistic. But it also made me realize that I love writing them getting together (when they're consistently shooting barbs back and forth to each other, being very competitive, and Riley working through her issues to give Zack and his constant flirting a chance) as much as I love writing them when they _are_ together (loving, supportive, and still shooting barbs back and forth while being very competitive). Sorry for this long author's note, just some inspiration while I'd been writing this one.

I hope you liked it.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	6. So Much For A Fun Night

**Chapter Six:** So Much For A Fun Night **  
**

* * *

Riley swerved her bike out of the way of a fallen trash can before fixing Zack with an incredulous glance. "You're crazy," She commented, peddling confidently without a care in the world of the pedestrians leaping out of her way. "Absolutely mad."

"What?" Zack flipped his bangs from his eyes and shrugged in a noncommitting manner. "Because I think the Red Sox should get rid of Ellsbury because he sucks and he's dragging the team down more than when they decided to get rid of Babe Ruth?"

Riley quirked an eyebrow toward him and his unnaturally specific response. "Yes, exactly."

"You're just mad that you can't watch him when we go to games anymore."

"Not if I have to watch the Yankees, no."

"You didn't even watch him anyway, you just tried to get a good look at his butt."

Rileys' eyebrow ticked upward. And almost dangerous move. "You're exaggerating." She said it so simply, yet it held an air of dryness to it.

Zack pulled the hand brakes, coming to a stop at the end of the cross walk, watching the red light in the shape of a hand forcing them from continuing. Then again, as long as he lived in Boston, he knew it wasn't smart to even think about going up against traffic, even if he had the right of way. "You nearly threw me out of my seat the last time you wanted a good look."

Riley sat next to him, folding her arms. "There was a spider on my seat."

"You're from a country where spiders practically invade your houses. You're _not_ afraid of spiders."

It was true. Spiders were one of the few fears she didn't share with people. If there was a spider crawling along in her room, chances were she'd take the time to determine whether or not it was poisonous, venomous, or a danger in any way before deciding whether or not she'd carefully take it outside or squish it with the nearest shoe.

Riley simply shrugged and smiled sweetly.

"So, just admit it." Zack rang his hands around the gripped handlebars of his bike. "You like checking out dudes' asses as much as we us guys like to check out yours."

"I've never denied it, mate. We're just able to hide it a lot better than you blokes do." Zack made a 'yeah, right' face, making her laugh. "How many times have I seen your head whip around when a good-looking girl walks by?"

"I don't know. Have you heard my neck crack whenever I'm around you?"

Riley rolled her eyes but laughed along with Zack. For the first time since Ian had arrived in Boston, which, frustratingly, was only a day before, she didn't feel on edge. Didn't feel that she had to hide something. Didn't have to think carefully about what she was going to say whenever someone asked about him. Didn't have to worry if her sudden burst of brusque responses seemed in character or out. Was asking Zack on a date that night a distraction? Yes, but not just for her. He seemed to need it, too. The closer they got to graduation, the more Zack turned in on himself, not wanting to talk about school more than he needed to.

To the point that he'd stonewall any conversation that had to do with 'homework', 'tests', 'studying', and anything that had to do with Cody's packets and power point presentations that explained why studying certain subjects at a certain time of day made it easier for the brain to retain whatever information you were feeding it. Even more so than he usually would. And, judging by the look on his face when she arrived at this suite that night, he needed it for more than studying.

She saw the surprise and confusion on Zack's face when she showed him that she'd rented bikes for them to take around the city. Riley was sure he wanted nothing more than to take a drive in her Camaro that (finally) arrived from being shipped overseas but warmed up to the idea quickly. Anything that had to do with physical activity or some sort of game, he was good with. Especially if it meant he could show off a little.

The light changed, signaling them to go. Riley leisurely peddled down the sidewalk next to Zack, watching him weave in and out of the pedestrians around them without a warning other than, "Get out of the way!" when some came to be too close.

"You really got the whole Boston thing down don't ya?" Riley teased.

"Well, Cody and I have gotten really good at claiming parking spaces at the Tipton." Zack lifted a hand and pointed at her. "You don't know how angry rich people can get until their parking spots are taken. And with mom's beater, it's harder to defend."

"Let me guess. Ice balls at the windshield."

"Too easy." A mischievous glint came to Zack's eye, the same glint Riley'd come to immediately notice when it appeared. And simultaneously (and secretly) fell in love with long before she'd even realized it. "We'd sneak up to the rooftop pool, siphon the water from it, and spray it over the parking spaces below, making the cars and spots freeze." He shrugged. "When it wasn't snowing anyway. When it snowed, we'd hide behind a snowbank and throw snowballs at cars that tried to take her spot."

Riley nodded slowly. "That explains Mr. Moseby's aversion to snow." Then it was her turn to smile mischievously. "I mean, if that time we surprised him with a snowball fight in July didn't get him first."

Zack smiled at the memory. "Yeah, that was a good one."

"One of my best." Riley blew on her knuckles and buffed them against her shirt. "If I do say so myself." She looked forward and reached out her hand, grabbing onto Zack's. With a tug, she directed him out of the way of an older couple who slowly walked their way. The two smiled as they passed, then disappeared as an afterthought.

"You know, I never want to get old," Zack commented. He lowered himself to the bike seat, peddling as slowly as Riley was. "I'd rather go out long before then."

"You don't want to grow up and grow old with someone?" Riley asked, eyebrows rising.

"Nah. If I get to the point where I can't walk any further than a few steps without having to hack up a long and need someone to pull up my pants after I go to the bathroom, just kill me."

Riley feigned a heavy sigh, along with a shake of her head and a roll of her eyes. "You're such a romantic, Zack."

Zack sucked back as hard as he could, then spat on the ground. "Thanks." He flashed his most charming smile. "I try."

"Boofhead." Again, Riley burst out laughing, making his smile widen.

He always did work to make her smile and laugh, though it didn't take too much to do so. Especially after the looming dark presence stopped sitting behind her at every turn. Riley frowned, her eyebrows coming together. How long had it been since she thought of Robert? Like anything but the man who was still going to anger management classes and holding up his end of the restraining order slapped against him? Like an afterthought?

And, just like other parts of her past, he came creeping back into her mind at the worst time. Riley pushed the thought away and dropped her hand from Zack's. "What? Did I spit on it?" He turned his hand back and forth, running his palm on the leg of his jeans as he did so.

"No, let's get some food." She nodded to the neon ice cream cone that sat above the ice cream shop. The parking lot was packed, they even saw some of their schoolmates sitting at tables outside. The two waved before climbing off their bikes and locked them up.

"Alright." Zack rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Since you're paying, I think I'll go with the biggest cone you can get."

"Sure, mate, if you share," Riley said. She mentally calculated how much money she had to spend that week, then let out a frustrated grunt.

Another thought of Robert. How strictly he kept her and her brothers and sister on a monetary leash. Sometimes not giving them much money to do anything at all. It was easy to hide; bring food from home, say you already ate earlier. _Say you were saving money for a new laptop or something else big when you knew he was spending it all on the cigarettes and booze he could get his hands on. Say you were grounded and couldn't go anywhere to hide…everything._

Zack gave her an incredulous look, holding her bike still so she could lock it up. "Who said anything about sharing, Sweet Thang?" Despite her aversion to the nickname, the corner of Riley's lips pulled up. "You asked me on this date, I get to take advantage of everything that goes with it, including ordering what I want and deciding to eat as much as I want." He wagged his finger at her. "I know how you girls are, you like to order a salad and then eat the rest of our plates."

Riley placed her hands on her hips, eyebrows flying upward. She would've been offended by his commented, even downright angry, had she not known Zack so well. Not gotten used to the player façade he put on. The same one shot down so quickly and easily when first getting to know him. The same one she knew he only held up because he was as insecure as everyone else.

"When was the last time you saw me order fucking a salad?" She asked.

Zack's face screwed up in thought. His freckled nose wrinkled, left eye scrunching up beneath the fat of his cheek that moved up. He tilted his head, made a low humming sound. Finally, he relented when Riley made a noise of offense and punched him on the arm. He backed away, holding his hands up defensively. "I'm kidding, Riles, geez. Take a joke, why don't you?" He looked at her closely. "Are you still mad about the arcade, I said I was sorry. And besides, it was your idea to go to the arcade, not mine."

"Yeah…well…" Riley felt a surge of irritation.

All because she thought it'd be fun if they exercised a _tiny_ bit of their competitiveness and go to the nearby arcade. A night filled with min-golf, every arcade game in existence, a ticket prize counter, virtual bowling, pool tables, and some of the best prizes anyone could imagine.

She thought it'd be a good place for them to just hang out. Maybe find a dark corner to kiss a little when the mood struck. But, as was common when either of them got to be around a game, they became every competitive. Games of air hockey resulted in Zack's constant taunting and Riley's increasing anger, which grew even worse when they played a basketball hoop shooting game—a sport that Riley was very bad at. Then going onto pool, of which Riley quickly and easily kicked his ass, and then onto mini-golf where the two argued like cats and dogs between holes over whether or not a shot into a hole counted and accusing the other of cheating when they weren't looking.

"So, I'm right?" He asked.

Riley wanted to smack the grin off his face. Couldn't stop the one forming on hers. "Don't get too excited, mate." She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and walked toward him, playfully shoving him with her shoulder. Zack stepped back, allowing her to pass. Riley brushed her cheek with her shoulder, smiling sweetly back at him. "It doesn't happen too often, yeah?"

He rolled his eyes, trailing after her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

She trailed up to the counter with Zack following close behind her. He started to wrap his arms around her waist, stopped then asked under his breath, "Is that okay?"

In response, Riley grabbed his hands and wrapped them around her waist. She leaned back against his chest, resting her head against his shoulder. It was more than okay. She was glad he asked first. She wasn't completely over the fight or flight feeling that kicked in when she wasn't expecting it. As she held her hands over his, she could feel Zack relax behind her.

They made it to the counter and Riley ordered the largest cone in a chocolate—"With extra sprinkles," Zack piped up. She paid and handed him the dessert, following him to one of the benches out front of the neon sign. The second he sat down, he started to eat the ice cream with long draws of his tongue, making Riley stare at him in abject horror, holding onto her own smaller cone. She had as big of an appetite as he did on her best days, probably—if she thought about it—leftover from the days Robert would starve her and her siblings, but nothing quite like that.

Finally, after finishing her cone, she crossed her legs at the knee, pulling her arms in as she started to shiver, the effects of the ice cream taking its course through her body. Tilting her head back, Riley looked at the twinkling stars in the sky, not easy to see amongst the lights. As much as she was a city girl, she enjoyed being out in the areas that showed open expansion. It was why she loved the ocean so much, why she loved to surf; even on a day with no waves she'd take her board out and just sit, allowing herself time to sit. Most of the time, she didn't think, just sat back with the sunshine pouring over her and allowed herself to just _be._

It was hard to do that in the city. Hard to do that in school where reputation, image, and labels were the most important thing. Where her reputation followed her from Australia to Boston. That she thought she'd shaken.

"Cold?" Zack's voice broke into her thoughts.

"No," Riley said readily. A lie. She hated the cold. Hated to admit it. Didn't know why she hated to, honestly. Maybe years of being self-sufficient. Maybe leftover self-preservation. Maybe living in such a warm climate for so long. Maybe all of the above. (People did tend to poke fun during the winter).

Nevertheless, Zack put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side. Again, he did the righ thing. Riley looked up at him, then started to laugh. "What?" He asked, oblivious to the smears of chocolate around his mouth.

"You have ice cream on your face," Riley said.

"Oh." Zack reached up a hand, started to rub at it. Riley pushed his hand away, grasped his neck, and drew the tip of her tongue up the side of his mouth, collecting the chocolate with ease. For a moment, Zack looked stunned. Then, with a bobbing of his head said with an air of arrogance, "Well, if you were that hungry, you should've just said so."

Riley pulled his head down for a kiss. Riley could hear the sound of whistles and jeering coming from their schoolmates and ignored it. She only wanted to focus on Zack. On the way he gently grasped her waist, the way he his lips moved over hers in a way that proved how much skill he had, from the way he tasted, cold and sweet, like the ice cream they just ate…

And not on the feeling that she was being watched.

"I told you it was her."

Startled, Zack jerked backwards, immediately bringing the back of his hand across his lips. "It wasn't me!" He cried defensively.

Riley elbowed him in the side, turning to face the voice she semi-recognized from long ago. She turned on the bench to find Ian standing beside her, holding onto a milkshake, with his parents by his side. Parents that were beaming at her. "How ya going?" She asked them.

"Ian, you didn't tell us she was in Boston," Mrs. Hernandez said, moving closer to Riley's side. She reached out her hands, grabbing onto Riley's while Ian shrugged. "It's so good to see you again, sweetie. How ya going?"

"Ace," Riley replied quickly. She stood up, making Zack stand as well. "Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez, this is Zack. Zack these are Ian's parents." She gestured between them all before dropping her hand to her side. "And you know Ian."

"Cheers." Ian lifted his milkshake in greeting though the pleasant expression on his face didn't change.

Zack lifted his chin in a nod. "What's up, dude?"

"How've you been doing?" Mrs. Hernandez continued, ignoring the boys awkwardly standing with each other. "If we knew you were here, we would've visited sooner."

Riley glanced at Ian and smirked. "'Didn't he tell you he saw me before?" Ian's eyes narrowed. "Stopped by when I was at work?"

"Did he?" Mr. Hernandez smiled and clapped a hand to his son's shoulder. "He didn't say a thing."

"Must've slipped my mind," Ian said, flatly. His eyes flashed as Riley looked at him. Then he tilted his head and asked. "Did you guys break up?" Zack gave him a funny look. "She didn't say you were her boyfriend, mate." His gaze turned back to Riley. "Playing your games again, I see."

Riley's upper lip curled. She took in a deep breath and said, sickeningly sweet, "And you haven't answered my question about your girlfriend. Is she going to be joining you at uni?"

Something flashed through Ian's eyes, turning a dark brown even darker. He stepped toward her, thought about it, then changed his mind. Changed his expression to one so friendly so fast that Zack had to blink to be sure he saw it, while Riley was unscathed, used to it. "I didn't think I'd see you again, so I didn't mention anything. But since we seem to be running into each other a lot, I'd be glad to meet your other friends." He fixed his gaze on Zack. "That is, mate, if you don't mind me crashing you plans."

"I'm sure it'll be okay," Mrs. Hernandez jumped in, smiling at the two Australian teens as if Zack weren't there. "It'll give you two a chance to catch up."

"We don't want to hold you up any longer than we have been," Mr. Hernandez added. "We'll be going now. Is your number still the same? We'd like to have you and your family over when a day is good for you." They started toward the car.

"Yeah," Ian agreed, not following his parents. "I'd like to see all of them again." He gave a light laugh. "I hope they're not still mad at me."

Riley's blood boiled. "I couldn't imagine why," she said, her words becoming clipped. Taking on an air of sarcasm that she knew he knew—judging by the vein in his jaw twitching.

Ian turned and held his hand out to Zack. "Good to see you, mate. Sorry about my parents." Zack hesitated, watching him a moment before taking his hand to shake as well. Ian held his hand firmly and said, "Piece of advice, don't let anyone else into your business. It's a battle you'd lose."

"You're saying I'm going to lose?" Zack asked.

Ian shrugged, dropping Zack's hand. "I'm not saying anything. Just that I hope you know what you're getting into."

Riley sighed.

So much for a fun night.

* * *

 **A/N:** After the last few days I've had, I needed this (mostly) fluffy self-indulgent chapter. Hope you all liked it as well.

I hope you liked it.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	7. I Really Need Your Help Here

**Chapter Seven:** I Really Need Your Help Here

* * *

"Are you sure you can't come over?"

Zack lifted an eyebrow, pausing in the doorway to his and Cody's room. He assessed the situation within a few seconds, wondering if he was interrupting something. His eyes made a rotation in his head. Right. _Like Cod has anything that I could potentially interrupt._ He closed the door behind him and took off his shoes, stepping on the heels of each one to do so.

Cody shifted his phone to his left hand then rested it between his shoulder and his ear. A crick formed in his neck when he cocked it to the side, making him reach up with his right hand to rub at his neck. "Sorry, hun, but you know how it is," he apologized, making Zack roll his eyes once more. If there was one thing he could say about his brother it was that he certainly was affectionate when he was dating someone. But there were only a few times he could hear some of the worst offending pet names before he got sick of them.

Nevertheless, Zack went to his bed and sat on the end of it, waving his hand in Cody's direction. Cody looked at him from the corner of his eye but didn't move. He continued speaking. "I have to get this paper going or else I'm not going to have any time to write my report on the science museum." He shrugged, as if she could see him. "And you know how important _that_ is."

"Cody, it's Spring Break," Rhuben's voice came through the phone. The words spoken slowly and deliberately. Zack wasn't one who wanted to eavesdrop, he hated it whenever he tried to have a private conversation and his mother poked her head into the room. And it wasn't that Zack was actually _trying_ to listen to the conversation, but that Cody studied in absolute silence that anything could be heard through the phone. "Not summer school."

Cody smiled to himself. Zack was sure his brother sent a smirk his way to add to his sentence, "Who said anything about summer school? And I don't understand why it gets a bad rap. If I had the opportunity to study more over the summer, I'd take advantage of it."

Zack snorted. Cody, in a rare showing of impolite behavior, shot his brother the finger over his shoulder before waving his hand at him to shoo him. Zack's eyebrows rose, his eyes widened at the same time, a pointed look toward his brother, trying to get his attention.

"You already do, mate. You just don't need it as an excuse."

Cody laughed in response, making Zack huff and spread out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The one time, the _only_ time he _wanted_ Cody's advice and all he was going to do was ignore him? _Geez, he could be a little more grateful._ Zack closed his eyes, thinking about the date he'd just returned from.

It had been good, normal to the interactions he and Riley always had, up until Ian got there. Just like she'd done before, at the restaurant, Zack saw an immediate change with her afterward. He tried to hold her hand and she'd pull away, making sure her hand was out of reach. He went to give her a kiss when he dropped her off and she simply leaned in and gave him a hug. That's it. A hug. They hadn't just hugged in…well…as far as he could remember. Not that he didn't like cuddling when he got the chance, it was actually pretty cool and he did like being able to sit in silence every now and then, but it wasn't his normal response.

Hugs were for when he gave her a good 'just thinking of you' gift, when he said something incredibly sweet, when she was having a bad day. Or the first time they saw each other that day. He looked forward to it, honestly. But not for the end of a date.

Zack huffed, glaring at the ceiling. _Everything had been fine until he got here,_ Zack thought. He pursed his lips, almost pouted like a baby whose candy had been taken from him. The analogy was just about right. He wouldn't say he was ever possessive, had never been that kind of guy. Jealous, maybe. There had been plenty of guys that Maddie had been interested in he'd been jealous of. Guys who were older, taller, stronger than him.

Not better looking.

Definitely not.

In his opinion, Maddie had a really bad habit of choosing guys who weren't so great in the looks department. And sometimes their brains didn't match things up very well, either. But he hadn't been jealous of any of the guys he'd been interested in, in a _long_ time. Not since he'd gotten over his crush on her. That's all it was, anyway. A crush.

This was different.

"No, hun, I'm just saying that I…I don't know…just that I don't really get the feeling there's anything wrong with him." Cody's words caught Zack's attention once more. He sat up, resting his body weight on his hands, pressing his palms into the mattress behind him. Now, his stacks of notebooks and textbooks aside, Cody rested his elbows on the desk, eyes shifting back and forth as he listened to Rhuben on the other end of the phone. "Unless there's something we need to know."

Zack waved his hand, trying to get Cody's attention once more. That didn't work. Grunting in frustration, Zack reached behind him and grabbed his pillow. With a swing of his arm, he launched it back towards his brother. Honestly, he expected Cody's twin telepathy to kick in and note something was coming flying at him, duck out of the way. Or, as he was sometimes able to do, grab the flying projectile out of midair and throw it back at him.

It impressed Zack every time Cody managed to show a small feat of athleticism. Not that Zack would ever admit it, but it was impressive. Then again, he didn't know many people who could practically scale a rope ladder without breaking a sweat in only five seconds all because of the simple motivation of Zack admitting to a past indiscretion. (Something about Gwen as far as he could remember, he could've been making it up as far as Zack was concerned).

Not that time, that time it whacked Cody on the side of the head. Cody gritted his teeth, grabbed the pillow and heaved it back and him with a cry of, "Zack! I'm on the phone!"

Zack caught the pillow against his chest. He stood up and walked next to his brother, looking expectantly down at him. Cody looked at him, repeated, "I'm on the phone," and pretended his brother wasn't there. _He asked for it._ Zack reached out and started to press his finger repeatedly into the side of Cody's head.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

All the while Cody listened on the other end, pressing a finger into his free ear, and doing his best to pretend that his brother wasn't slowly working him to his last nerve.

"So, Ian," Cody said, immediately making Zack freeze, stop poking his brother.

Just as he thought. Cody was talking about him, too. He wasn't the only one who'd noticed the way everything changed the second the teen boy made his existence known. Or else, from the way their friends reacted to him. Zack lifted himself to sit on Cody's desk. He kicked his legs back and forth, ignoring Cody's pointed look. He wasn't going to move until he got some answers. And if Cody had something to say about it, then he must not be going crazy.

It had to be something big she was keeping quiet about it.

"What about him?" He heard Rhuben asked, resignation already coming to her voice.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Cody said honestly. He finally removed his finger from his ear, resigning to the fact that Zack clearly wasn't going away. Cody picked up the pencil on his desk and, instead of lining it neatly with the others, started to spin it around his fingers. Zack hummed under his breath, watching his brother. "I'm not getting much out of Riley."

"That should be your first clue, Cody."

"Come on," Cody gently pushed. "There must be something you can tell me."

"I can't," Rhuben said.

Cody nodded. Zack frowned. She didn't say there wasn't anything to say, just "I can't." "I understand," Cody said. "Listen, I'll call you when I'm done here. Maybe we can go to a late movie."

"Sounds good. Just let me know. Hoo roo."

Cody hung up and glared at his brother. "You know it's rude to eavesdrop. I don't listen in on your calls."

"That's because my calls don't have to deal with bragging about how smart I am, and other boring things you nerds like to talk about," Zack replied. Cody gave him a look. Zack couldn't help but wince. It was one of the weaker comebacks he'd given. But the turn of events of that night were more important. "Anyway, my date was terrible."

Cody blinked at his brother. "You rudely got me to get off the phone just to tell me that your date went badly? It's not that weird, Zack. You've managed to repel many girls before. I'm just surprised it's taken you this long." He replaced his pencil on his desk.

Zack turned his gaze to the ceiling, quelling the urge to insult Cody right back. They could spend the rest of their lives trading barbs. For once, he was serious. "I didn't do anything wrong, it was Ian." Cody looked at him curiously, not pausing in his attempts to tidy up his work space. "We ran into him on our date."

"And?" Cody prompted.

"And?" Zack repeated, wrinkling his nose. He gestured towards Cody's phone. "It was like what you were saying to Rhu. There's nothing outwardly wrong with him, but…I get the feeling there this."

Cody shook his head. "I was just saying that I'd like to get to know him better."

"No, that's not what you said. What you said was that you didn't think there was anything outwardly wrong with him. But I know you, Cody. I know you've noticed he's pretty weird. Well, I mean, that the way the Jacksons and Crystal react to him is weird."

Cody pressed his lips together.

"Why didn't you ask her about him?"

"Why don't you ask Riley?" Cody shot back. Zack could hear the defensiveness in his brother's voice. Saw it in his face. Zack sighed, allowing his shoulders to relax. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. He didn't need to start any fights with his brother, not with something as serious as this.

Zack ran a hand through his hair, sighed, looked away from his brother. He hated to be vulnerable, hated showing his insecurities. The only people that got to see it was his friends, the only people that _truly_ got to understand the depths it went were Riley and Cody. And if Cody couldn't help him, he didn't know who else could.

"'I tried," he said, hearing the defeat in his words. "And she won't say anything. Every time I've asked so far, she's said he was just a friend. Just someone she knew. When I push for details, she won't say anything more than that." He paused. "But I know something happened. I haven't seen her dislike anyone this much since Robert left and he was beating them up." Zack's stomach growled, making him wrap his arms around his stomach.

 _Geez. Maddie was right._ He did eat when he was upset. _It's no wonder I got so fat._

Cody nodded. "I can understand that. It's normal to feel a sense of protectiveness when you're in a relationship." He paused. "Frankly, I'm still surprised I'm using that word with you in mind, but stranger things have happened." Zack tilted his head, fixing Cody with a pointed stare. "I'm just saying that I can understand if you're worried about the nature of their relationship simply because of some feelings of inadequacy."

"In Englsih."

"Are you sure you're not jealous?"

"Jealous?" Zack repeated, the word sounding foreign to him. Not so much that he could ignore having the thought only moments before. But hearing it come from someone else made it sound even more ridiculous out loud than it did in his head. "Me? What do I have to be jealous about?"

"That there's someone else out there who may know more about her than you do," Cody said calmly. "Or that there's things she doesn't talk to you about. Honesty and communication are key to a relationship, but you have to give her the chance to do it."

"I don't need you to psychoanalyze me, Cody," Zack said faltly. "I'm not jealous."

"Are you sure?"

Zack was silent. No, he wasn't quite sure. Truth be told, he hated the way Ian looked at her. With that stupid charming smile that, honestly, could rival his own. And knowing they'd spent a good amount of time together, maybe even grew up together, to know the things she'd never wanted to talk to him about…that made it hard. But no, he wasn't jealous. Just worried.

"Look, I didn't push Rhu to tell me anything else because she didn't need to explain anymore," Cody explained. "It's not just a sister thing with them, but a twin thing. I thought you'd get that."

Zack lifted his gaze and looked his brother in the eye. And he felt bad. He did get it. There were certain things, as a twin, that no one else would understand. That no one else would even come _close_ to understanding. And there were a lot of things they'd never talk to other people about. Sometimes, Zack confided more in Cody than he ever did his parents or his friends, no matter how much he trusted them, simply because of the bond he and Cody had.

Just like they could read each other's thoughts, they could read each other's faces and understand what was going on. Could communicate without having to say anything. And, could keep a secret between them better than anything. It was hard to break a bond between a twin. And their girlfriends would certainly understand that. Two-fold. Because of being twins and because of the harsh life they lived through. They had to have each other's backs when no one else did.

That didn't mean Zack didn't have to worry. "Cody, I want you to be honest," he said slowly. "Do you think something happened between them?"

Cody was careful with his answer. Made sure it was a thinly veiled question that wouldn't get him in too much trouble. "Do you mean if I think they dated?" Zack shrugged. "What did _she_ say?"

"That they never dated," Zack replied.

"Do you believe her?" Cody waited a few seconds for him to respond, giving him time to think. "I don't think you would've asked me if you did," he pressed gently.

Zack blew out a long breath and ran his hands over his face. "I want to," he said honestly. "I really do. But…I can feel it. There's something wrong. Something happened. When I first met him, at the restaurant, she said he wasn't her boyfriend and never has been." He licked his lips. "But when we bumped into him tonight he said that I shouldn't let anyone else into my business because it's a battle I'd lose."

Cody made a face. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. _You're_ the smart one. I thought you'd have an idea."

"You're plenty smart, Zack," Cody reassured his brother. "Smart enough to ask me for help instead of flying off the deep end, like you've done many times before." Zack started to protest but a lifted eyebrow from Cody cut him off. "Darlene," he pointed out. "And Ella. And Janice. And Jessica."

"Okay, Janice and Jessica weren't my fault," Zack defended himself.

Cody looked amused. "How do you figure?"

"I could never tell them apart, I never knew which one I was dating."

"That's such a comfort, Zack. For all twins everywhere."

"Come on, man. I really need you help here," Zack pleaded. He folded his arms, hugged them across his chest. "I don't know what to do. If this guy is going to be around all of Spring Break…it's not like I can avoid him the entire time."

"You've avoided taking a bath for the last ten years, I don't think avoiding someone is going to be hard for you." Cody quickly waved off his joke and said. "Look, unless this guy threatens you or something, there's not much you can do. He's here to check out the college scene, you can't fault him for that. UMASS and NYU and Harvard and all the other big colleges are nearby. This is a good, central place to be to visit them all. Avoid him if you can, but if she doesn't want to talk about him then don't force her to do it. You'll just push her further away than she's already pulled. Believe me, Zack, before you guys started dating we talked a lot about how she was worried to get too close to you."

"Yeah, yeah, my reputation."

"No, because she thought you'd stop liking her once you really got to know her. That's why she pulls away sometimes. You've been as good for her as she's been to you, don't rock the boat." He swiveled to face his desk. "Now, can I get back to me work, please? I have a movie I want to catch and I'm not going to if you don't let me have some peace and quiet."

"Okay, okay." Zack hopped off his brother's desk and folded his arms. "Geez, you try to have a heartfelt moment with your brother and he decides to treat you like some sort of a criminal." He headed back to the living room.

"So, what are you going to do?" Cody called to Zack the second he made it to the door.

"Nothing," Zack replied with a shrug. _Not unless he makes me do something._

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey guys, happy November! Here with another update for you all. I've got some more motivation to get back to this and some of my other stories that I've neglected for a little bit. Though I do have some other stories coming up soon as well.

This story is broken up into small-ish arcs as the story goes on and this was the last chapter of the introductory arc. Things will be picking up. I hope you liked it.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	8. How'd You Know I Was Here?

**Chapter Eight:** How'd You Know I Was Here?

* * *

"Give it back."

"I was using it first."

"Syd." Riley gave her baby brother a stern look. He frowned, pursing his lips into a pout, furrowed his eyebrows at the same time. She released her stern look to lift her eyebrows, folding her arms over her chest. Shoulders slumping, Sydney thrust out his hand, handing over the laptop he'd been clutching against his chest. "Thank you."

"But I was using it," Sydney protested, unable to give up his having lost the conversation.

"Syd, you're ten. Stop whinging."

"I'm not whinging. I was just using it for a very important paper. You always let me use your computer, Ri-Ri, why not now?" Sydney trailed after his sister as they walked into the kitchen. His voice immediately became overlapped by all the loud voices shuffling through the Manning's kitchen. Absorbed into the chaos, Sydney turned to race to the table that housed his siblings, cousins, and uncle, all clamoring for the food dishes that were set up in the center of the table.

"All your papers are important, Syd," Christian pointed out, glancing at his youngest nephew over the top of his newspaper. He seemed completely indifferent to the cacophony that battered on around him. "But that doesn't mean you have to stop being a kid for it. Believe me, I remember when I was doing my first college paper-"

"At least you were in college at the time, eh?" Crystal pointed out. She turned her blue eyes—for which she got her name—toward her father then tilted her head to her youngest cousin. "It's not healthy for someone this young to worry so much about papers for a school he hasn't even gone to yet."

"Relax, Crys, he's just writing papers, not working on the next Atom Bomb, yeah?" Patrick pointed out. He then paused and leaned toward her, lowering his breath to add. "I'm just glad someone else is worried. A ten-year-old shouldn't be this smart."

"That shouldn't matter," Noah remarked bluntly. He smirked at his twin. " _Everyone_ is smarter than you."

"Sure, but at least they're not smug about it." Patrick jerked his thumb toward Sydney, who beamed proudly. Then Patrick reached out and flicked Sydney on the ear, making Sydney cry out and punch his brother hard on the shoulder before turning to address the table saying, "He hit me!"

"I mean it, Little Man," Riley said forcefully. "Knock it off."

She carefully placed the laptop on the kitchen counter before taking her seat at the table. The same spot she sat every day since moving in with her uncle and cousins a few years before; Uncle Christian and Crystal sat at both ends of the table. A meaningful placement as the heads of the family. Christian had taken them in and Crystal was the one who's life changed the most to do so. Sydney and Aaron sat directly in the middle seats of the table, the youngest facing each other across the table.

Around them alternated the older of the family, sitting in order of age; Riley and Rhuben, then Patrick and Noah, each sitting across from the siblings that was more like them. Riley and Patrick were more outgoing of the two sets of twins, always loving life and wanting to see what it had in store for them and understanding people. Rhuben and Noah were more introverted and had a gentler and playful approach to life.

When they were allowed to be.

The thought crossed Riley's mind before she could stop it. Too many things that she hadn't been 'allowed' to do, all stemming back to not being able to be herself. With Robert around she wasn't allowed to eat unless he said, weren't allowed to make friends, weren't allowed to bring attention to themselves, weren't allowed to be anything but _there_ unless he was trying to put on some sort of show of being the happy family man. When he was able to put down the bottle for more than five minutes.

And yet, even with him long gone, even living with some of her favorite relatives, triggers were a real thing despite how hard she tried to move forward. Loud noises still made her jump, flinch, look around for the nearest exit. The loudness of her family was a welcome reprieve.

"Fine," Sydney grumbled, slouching low in his seat. Instead, he smiled at Aaron, who gently nudged him on the arm then tapped his fingertips across the table. Sydney sat up and grabbed the large pitcher of orange juice, moving it in front of his blind cousin's and. "Five o'clock."

"Thank you," Aaron said patiently, moving it toward his glass that sat in the five o'clock position in comparison to his seating.

"And besides, how long ago was it when you were in college, Uncle Christian?" Riley asked. Her eyes flashed mischievously, lips pulling back into a biting grin to add onto her statement.

Rhuben mused over the question, tapping her fork against her plate. She playfully added, "Must've been the Stone Age by that point, yeah?"

Finally, Christian lowered his newspaper and looked at his niece with raised eyebrows. "What was that?"

"Nothing." Rhuben smiled sweetly. Crystal and Aaron laughed as their father rolled his eyes.

"Come on, daddy, you know we respect you." Crystal shrugged, turning her gaze to the ceiling. Her cheek bunched up in her hand against the movement. "But it's just so much fun to make fun of your for being such a nerd. You even gave mom a run for her money. I don't know how she put up with you, sometimes."

"Funny, I say the same thing about you." Christian stuck his tongue out at his daughter, making her do the same. Riley and her brothers and sister laughed along with them. "So, what do you guys have planned tonight?"

"Max is throwing a party," Crystal explained.

"Got to start off Spring Break with a bloody bang, yeah?" Riley added. "We could've had it here, but we all know how get when it comes to having your place being invaded." She twirled her fork in the air. "Plus, I'm sure we cause enough trouble for you. We don't want you to go prematurely gray yet." Her eyes roved over her uncle's hair. A chestnut brunet slowly fading to gray at the edges. "Any more than it already has, I reckon. How old are you again?"

"Old enough to still ground you if I'd like."

"Touché."

Yes, a party was just what she and her friends needed. So much so that when they finally decided what they'd do for Spring Break, Max was the first to offer her place for the party, quickly vetoing Cody's idea of their first friendly outing outside of the school walls for the week of debauchery to be a trip to the Planetarium.

"If I wanted to look at some stars, I'd knock myself out with my history book," Max said, while sending off the e-vite that'd have the entire school at her sprawling house in minute of the starting time, 8:00.

Or, as Riley viewed it, the entire school and other people that probably came in off the streets. There were enough people crammed in Max's house she recognized and very many she didn't dancing through in a large crowd in the living room, scarfed down everything set out in the kitchen, snuck beer and alcoholic drinks from beneath the sink and in the Montgomerys' wine cabinets into their red solo cups, and talked loudly amongst each other as the party raged on around them.

Riley grinned to herself as Zack grabbed her hand and spun her around in multiple quick circles. She stuck out her foot, coming to a stop, nearly tripping over the stumbling boy by their side-she recognized him as an alumnus of their school, having graduated the year before.

Zack laughed, watching him stumble and quickly right himself, making sure to keep the amber liquid inside his solo cup from spilling all over the floor. Riley's wrapped her arms around Zack's shoulders and stepped closer, both keeping with the beat of the song. The fast-paced song switched to another one and Riley groaned, feeling her feet start to throb.

As someone who enjoyed having as much fun as possible, there was a limit before she needed to catch her second wind. Unfortunately, Zack didn't seem to have the same idea as he continued along with the change of beat. She kept up for the first few moments then slowed.

Her eyebrows came together. Hands slid down from his shoulders, loosely grasping his wrists. Her eyes darted around the room, wondering where the inherent feeling of danger was coming from. The same feeling that she kept at bay every time she went somewhere new, immediately looking for a way out in case something went wrong. This time, however, she was stuck, jam-packed in the middle of a living room with hardly an inch on either side to move.

Zack noticed her change in demeanor and slowed his movements. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Riley looked at him and forced a smile. No point in worrying him further. "I need to take a break," Riley practically shouted in his ear.

He shrugged and nodded. "We can go somewhere quiet," Zack replied.

Riley smirked, knowing exactly what he wanted. She pressed a hand to his chest, pushing him back. "Easy, cowboy. I meant I need something to drink." She reached out and grabbed onto Max's hand, dragging her over to her ex-boyfriend. "Dance with Max for a while, maybe that'll wear you out."

"Yeah, let's see if you managed to learn anything since that dance contest we entered," Max agreed, poking him in the chest.

Zack's eyebrows twitched upwards, unable to hold back from a challenge. Especially when it came to the dance competition he'd lost years earlier, letting his cockiness get in the way of a surefire win. There was nothing Zack hated more in life than losing. "I'll let you be the judge of that."

Max grabbed onto Zack's hand and the two twirled around in a quick circle, giving Riley the chance to back away from the crowded living room and into the somewhat quieter kitchen.

It seemed that the party was in full swing by that point, most of the guest having had moved to the back and front yards from where it spilled from the living room and the basement. Bringing a hand across her forehead, Riley flicked the sweat that appeared aside and searched through the sinks full of ice for a Root Beer. Even a Red Bull would suffice at that point, though she knew it was out of the question.

Caffeine had been out of her diet for a long time. Terrible consequences to the barely concealed and contained energy she already had. Nervous energy, leftover energy from always needing to know the quickest way out of any adverse situation that came her way.

Even ones she couldn't quite see coming.

"Here you go."

Riley sighed and backed away from the dripping can of soda that was held in front of her face. She took a step back and looked Ian in the eye. He tilted his head, looking back at her, eyes filled with innocence. He brought his hand back and shoved the can of soda back into the ice with more force than necessary.

"Bloody hell, it's not like I poisoned it. The can is closed," he pointed out. As if to prove his point, he took his own soda can and popped it open, tilting his head back to take a long sip. "Makes you think you don't trust people."

"How'd you know I was here?" Riley folded her arms.

The corner of Ian's mouth turned up. He lowered the can and belched loudly, crushing it in his grasp. "Relax," he drawled. "I was invited."

"By who?"

"Does it matter? We can't all be like you, thinking we're invincible and can do whatever want. Not caring who gets in the way or gets hurt." Riley's upper lip curled. Otherwise, she did her best not to react. Knowing it was exactly as he wanted. She pulled her lips back into a thin line, quickly putting on a mask of indifference. "It's an e-vite, Riles, they get spread around. I was invited and I'm here. Sue me for wanting to get to know some more people around here." He shrugged. "Since I might be staying."

Riley let out a bark of laughter. "Staying here? I bet your girlfriend would miss you."

"She's not who I'm worried about right now. I'm worried about you."

"Me?" She raised an amused eyebrow.

"You. Because you and I both know how this is going to go and we may as well avoid it and just go with the end result." Ian stepped toward her, pressing his lips together. He grasped the end of the table beside him, knuckles turning white. He opened his mouth then quickly adopted a pleasant expression when a couple from the grade below Riley passed through the kitchen. He nodded toward them and lifted his chin.

"So, this isn't just a house call," Riley said, taunting him. A smirk came to her lips, watching as the veins in his neck tightened. Ian clenched his teeth, speaking to Riley out the side of his mouth, watching them the two with an eagle eye. Finally, when they left, he snapped toward her, ready to pounce. He spoke through gritted teeth. "You made a fool of me," he hissed. "In front of my parents. You know I don't like it when you do that."

Riley folded her arms and shrugged. "You do a pretty good job of that all by yourself, mate. You don't need me to do it for you." She mimicked him from seconds before, tilting her head aside. "I reckon like you don't need me to point out that your refusal to make a scene is probably going to kill you quicker than I will."

Ian's gritted teeth twisted into a grimace. An almost shark like smile. "I'd love to see you try."

"Well, your constant following me around and goading me isn't helping."

"Working on your run to be arrested? Again?"

Riley sucked in a deep breath through her nose. She stepped closer to him, narrowing her eyes dangerously. That time, thankfully, he had the grace to step away from her. Far enough so that he could at least pretend to keep his composure. The hand grasping the table started to quake under the pressure of his grip on the table. "Get the fuck out of Boston, before I make your life a living nightmare. Stop following me around and leave me the fuck alone."

"Wow." Ian chuckled to himself. "I actually forgot just how bloody stupid you can be." He pointed a finger toward her. "And how quickly you jump to conclusions."

Riley stared at him. Didn't respond. Couldn't help but focus on what he'd just said. The second the word 'stupid' came from his mouth, she snapped back into a time long ago, where the word was thrown at her and her siblings with such vitriol that it affected them more than they'd ever care to admit. Made Sydney revert back to a child when under massive amounts of stress, made Noah suffer from mutism in select circumstances of discomfort, made Patrick experience random bursts of rage mirroring Riley's own struggles with her anger, made Rhuben fall back into her eating disorder and self-centered search tunnel vision of what she wanted out of life, made Riley turn to the worst version of herself; a nasty, rude, individual who wanted nothing but to protect her family at all costs even if that meant keeping everyone away from them.

A life of loneliness was better than a life of misery. Something she'd thought she'd moved past. Hoped to have moved past with her family her friends, her…not boyfriend. All of it came crashing down with that one simple word.

Stupid.

The one word that bulldozed the bolstered confidence she'd spent years building, that worked down into her insecurities quicker than a lightning bolt striking the ground. Gone was the barely concealed contempt she held for him. She felt nothing but abject anger and swung around, throwing a punch toward his face.

Ian reacted quickly, anticipating the reaction to his remark. Shot up his hand and grabbed her wrist, painfully squeezing it in his grasp. Riley winced, feeling her bones squeeze together. A wave of panic shot through her, squeezing her heart while simultaneously sending a fire through her that burned every nerve, rooting her to in spot.

Ian continued to squeeze, pulling her closer to her him. He tilted his chin, his hard stare matching the glare she sent back to him despite wanting nothing more than to run. God, she hated how badly she wanted to run from him. She wasn't as strong as she thought she was.

"I wouldn't do that," Ian murmured. He roughly shoved her hand aside, allowing her to cradle it against her chest. "It didn't work out so well for you last time, did it?"

* * *

 **A/N:** I told you they'd be picking up, though it is a semi-short chapter to start off this new arc. I decided not to have things take too long to get to the point, I typically tend to keep pacing a bit slower when I'm not writing a story that's specifically action oriented like the Elemental stories usually are.

And, I will explain why Riley isn't doing much to fight back against him soon, which is obviously against her usual personality and seems to not make sense of why she doesn't hate him. There's only so much she can hide things, usually she's good at it but sometimes thing do tend to blow over.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	9. It Wasn't Up To Him To Fix Things

**Chapter Nine:** It Wasn't Up To Him To Fix Things

* * *

Zack ducked his head below the fist that came flying toward him. Then he stood and brought his wrists together, using the flat of his arms to block the punch that came toward him there. Zack lifted his fists and did a solid combination, a few jabs and an uppercut, each time the gloves around his fists collided with the stiffened mat, it puffed up.

Emitting a low 'poof' sound.

Finally, Zack took a step black, placing his hands on his hips. He let out a long breath. "You know." He rubbed at his eye with the back of his arm, brushing away the sweat that dripped over his face. "I didn't think therapists were supposed to beat up their clients."

Dr. Morrison gazed back at Zack, lowering his chin as he took the last gulp of water from his water bottle. "Please. You're young and spry. I'm old and almost dying from taking two minutes to spar with you." He recapped the water bottle with a loud _snap_ , a period to end his statement. "And, I know it's not usually to suggest coming here for a session, but I had a long day and needed to unwind. You didn't have to say 'yes'."

"Last I checked, I always had to say 'yes' when it came to therapy sessions." Zack gestured with his arms. "Just didn't think it'd be in a gym."

Dr. Morrison chuckled and motioned for Zack to sit on the nearby bench. Zack did as he was told, unwrapping the gloves around his hands. He dropped them to the floor and picked up his own water bottle. He shook it, watching the colorful liquid swirl together, before taking a long sip. Some sort of a nutritional concoction that Cody made up and insisted he have.

It didn't taste bad, honestly. But it did nothing to keep him awake. Gone were the early mornings of Red Bull to get him through the day. That had been cut out of his diet along with a lot of other things since having started on his journey to recovery. Not to say he didn't sneak it every now and then, but Cody had really been watching him since knowing they'd be ending school for a break. There was only so long Zack could go with long nights of playing video games before it all started to catch up with him.

Not that he slept well in the first place.

It took him a long time to get used to the Tipton after sleeping in some of the worst beds he could ever imagine; one-star hotels, motels, his grandparents' lumpy couches, his grandparents' lumpy mattresses, the backseat of a car. Long nights that kept him awake from the discomfort that when he first moved into the Tipton, he continued to wake up, wondering how long it'd take for him to get a full night's sleep again.

"I wanted to keep you on your toes," Dr. Morrison explained. He grinned, roughing his towels down around his face, wiping off his own sweat. "And, it's probably going to be the last time I see you before you get into a week of Spring Break debauchery."

Zack snorted and smirked.

"Unless you got to it already," Dr. Morrison added.

"Well, there _was_ a party," Zack admitted.

"And how was it?" Dr. Morrison asked. He quickly added with, "I'm not telling you to rat anyone out or whatever it is you may be worried about. I honestly don't care what you young guys get up to so long as it doesn't cost me my job and you don't tell me something illegal that I may have to report later." At that, Zack made a humming sound and folded his arms. He looked at his therapist out the corner of his eye, who laughed and raised his hands. "Okay, I probably shouldn't have opened with that."

"Probably not," Zack agreed. "And you don't have to worry about anything. Nothing illegal went on. A bunch of us were hanging out at Max's place." He held up a hand. "No beer—well, at least we didn't bring any in—"

"—I don't need to know that," Dr. Morrison interrupted. "Or else I have to report it."

"Can you really do that? Isn't doctor patient confidentiality a thing? Isn't that immoral?" Zack twisted his mouth to the side, eyes shifting in thought. "Or unethical? Or against some health codes?"

"Do plan on starting a restaurant?"

"Oh, sure. A restaurant that's specifically for anorexics. It won't give you any nutritional information and no one can make comments like 'are you really going to eat that?', or 'don't you think you've had enough?' or 'wow, you must be really hungry' or else they'll be kicked out." Zack couldn't stop the sarcasm from coming to his voice. He lifted a finger. "And if you really didn't like what you ate, you don't have to complain about it, you can just throw it back up."

A bemused smile came to Dr. Morrison's face. He dropped his towel and leaned towards Zack. "You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?"

"Oh, I've been waiting to say that for over a year. I'm just not sure it'll actually work as a restaurant."

"Health codes?"

"No. I have no idea how to run a restaurant."

Dr. Morrison threw back his head and laughed, Zack falling in with his laughter as well. "So, you went to a party with your friends. That sounds like fun. A good way to hang out and have a good time."

"Yeah…" Zack agreed. His voice trailed off, unable to keep his thoughts from turning to the only sour note of the night. _Damn it,_ Zack thought. _Why'd you have to do that?_

Dr. Morrison was quick to realize the change in Zack's voice. His jovial expression faded away and the look that Zack dubbed 'expensively serious' replaced it. Where he immediately snapped back into therapist mode and was mentally taking notes of everything Zack said. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Zack said quickly.

"Zack."

Zack brought up a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. He pressed his fingers into the pressure points of his neck, trying to work away the tension that started to build in his head. Of course. Every second he thought about what was really bothering him and he got nothing but tension in his shoulders. No matter how hard he tried to be cool about the whole thing.

"It really is nothing," Zack said, hating how his voice sounded. Like he was trying to convince himself more than anything else. "It's just…one of the Jacksons friends came from their hometown to visit a college they may be going to school at."

"And?"

"And, nothing. He's been hanging around a bit and he's a little weird."

" _You're_ weird, Zack. I don't think you have much to compare it to."

Zack waved his finger into Dr. Morrison's face. "You _have_ been talking to Cody behind my back. I knew it. Cody can hardly keep a secret and he certainly can't keep it quiet how he really feels about me." Zack thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. "So, what about him should I tell you first? That he still cries every time he watches Bambi? Or that he's a lot more vicious than people give him credit for."

"Vicious?" Dr. Morrison blinked in surprise. Then his eyes narrowed, and he looked at Zack incredulously. "Cody? The guy who went on about the French flour he used in his bread when I was invited over for dinner that one time?"

"Exactly. _Everyone_ thinks he's got this nice act going on, but I don't buy it. I never have. I've seen more of him than other people have seen and there's something evil inside him, I'm telling you! Oh sure, he can put on a nice face when he's around someone else, but when he's alone he's a certified _dick_ and-" He noticed Dr. Morrison staring at him.

"What?" he snapped.

Dr. Morrison continued to stare. He was silent for a few long moments. Zack bit his lower lip, kept his mouth shut. He knew what the look meant, the prolonged silence. It was a trick the therapist used on him when he first started going to him for treatment; the longer he sat in silence, the more uncomfortable a patient became and seemed to need to fill that silence. At the beginning, Zack fell for it, singing like a canary.

It didn't help that Dr. Morrison managed to look at him with the same 'eyes' his mother used to get him and Cody to talk. The only difference being he didn't have that 'I know you did something wrong so tell me now and you won't be in as much trouble' tone to add to the look. So foolish how many times he fell for that trick.

He wasn't going to fall for it this time. Nope. Instead, Zack's knees started to bounce as he moved his thumb to his mouth, biting on the nail. He jutted out his bottom jaw, sucking in a breath through his teeth. _Damn,_ Zack thought. He recognized his nervous habit in a second. Knew it was very similar to how he looked when he was angry. It was the nervous energy that made it harder to play things off. The way he repeatedly cracked his knuckles, moved his hands by his mouth, to cover his mouth.

Hated how aware of it he became since having started therapy. Hated how he knew it came back only when he was keeping his problems inside. Hated how obvious it was to other people now, who gave him the sympathetic look whenever he started. Just a reminder that he'd never be considered normal again.

Then again, how 'normal' was 'normal' when his reputation was of a serial dater, an anorexic, and someone who sent their naked picture around the school? Most of the time he managed to forget about it all, but one reminder sends him into a tailspin.

This time, however, Zack wasn't going to fall for it. He made a note to himself, to stay silent if Dr. Morrison did.

This time, Dr. Morrison let out a breath and said, "We're not talking about Cody anymore, are we?"

Zack's eyes shifted aside. He looked over the gym. There weren't many people there. For someone who stayed up so late, Zack was one who didn't like to do much so early. Going to the gym at about six AM was something he never thought he'd do. But when mentioning his plans for Spring Break the week before, Dr. Morrison insisted they still have a meeting. That early seemed to be the only time free for him, as he did agree that Zack should have time to just hang out and have fun.

Those that were in the gym seemed to be lost in their own world. Grunting and groaning as they continued to lift weights overhead, footsteps thudding heavily on the treadmill. Zack had a odd relationship with gyms. On one hand, he loved sports and athletics so much that he would choose to work out or play a game at any chance. But since finding out how overweight he was, and since being diagnosed with anorexia, he almost hated going. Knowing, intuitively, that no one was watching him, but feeling that all eyes were on him anyway.

Even when he went to the gym with his dad and brother—both of whom had more reasons for people to watch them—Zack tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. The last time he allowed himself to go to the gym with their father, Zack—and even Cody—could only watch in wide-eyed horror.

"What is he doing?" Cody asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Zack asked in response. He rolled his eyes. "He's being even more embarrassing than usual." He paused. "Which, compared to mom, I didn't think was possible."

"And he likes to say he's a rockstar?" Cody's nose wrinkled. He shook his head, still watching as their father chatted up the young secretary at the front of the gym, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. "Do you think that still works?"

"Not since he started trying to hide gray hair," Zack commented. He moved a basketball to his hip and whistled loudly for his dad and the receptionist to hear. "Yo, dad, are you coming? Or are you just trying to recapture your youth?"

Kurt laughed nervously, pulling at the collar of is neck, before moving to join his sons. He quickly ushered them to the basketball courts. "Come on, I almost had her number. Did you have to ruin my lay like that?"

"Dad," Cody said slowly. "She was only a little bit older than us."

"Yeah, and you're not getting any younger." Zack grabbed the ball and drove it toward the net, doing an easy lay-up into the basket. He passed the ball to Cody, who did the same. "I think your bad back has proven that."

"Hey, I'm still young," Kurt defended himself. "I haven't started dying my hair to hide the gray. Not like your mother." Zack and Cody both stared at him with pointed looks. "Okay, not as _much._ Man, do you have to be such goody two-shoes?" He took the ball and dribbled it himself.

"I think that's Cody's deal, dad," Zack said. He smiled. "That girl you were after, she was pretty hot."

"And pretty young," Cody interrupted. "Do you know what Massachusetts's laws are with the age of consent?"

"Does sending pictures of yourself count?" Kurt asked.

Zack winced while Cody stared at him in disbelief before going off into a tirade. It was an innocent question. Zack knew his dad wasn't calling him out when he asked, more that he may have been worried about some other things he may have gotten into on the road with his band. Still, it struck him like a knife.

So much so that it took Zack a while to figure out that Cody had rambled so far that he'd changed conversation topics.

"And then within the prisons systems, there is corruption within those that are employed within the prisons. Guards are consistently smuggling drugs in to the prisoners as well as enacting their own corrupt sense of power upon the prisoners. Generally, you should be rehabilitated within a prison but considering the way—"

"Cody," Kurt interrupted. He held up a hand, continuing to try and get Cody off his tirade. "Cody, Cody, Cody. Before you decide to go off on another tirade, and potentially make me wonder if we should've given you so much internet access when you were so young, could you give me the ball?"

Cody nodded, and bounce passed the basketball to him. Zack, who stood aside, with wide eyes, looked at his father and said, "How did that happen?"

"I don't know." Kurt scratched at the back of his head. "I got lost somewhere along the point he started with and NBA player's salaries and net gain." He took the ball and ran towards the basket on the other end of the court, doing an easy lay-up to put it in. He grinned. "Just makes me wonder what would've happened had I focused on basketball rather than music." Zack and Cody exchanged a look. "Anyway, what do you think? Should we call it a day?"

"I think you should never do that again."

Everything about that day had been normal. His father flirting with any girl that crossed his path, Cody finding some time to get in some lecture about something, and Zack doing everything he could to avoid the scale in the locker room. He didn't look at it, forced himself to turn away, but he could practically sense where it was while mentally calculating how many calories he burned by playing a quick pick-up game with his dad and brother.

Now, as he sat with Dr. Morrison, he wasn't as aware of it, all because he'd been talking to Dr. Morrison the whole way. Either the man was a genius, or he simply knew how to work Zack over without the teen realizing it.

And Zack wouldn't put it past him. "No, we're not talking about Cody," he admitted.

"So, who are we talking about? This friend?" Zack nodded. "What's so bad about him?"

"Nothing, that's the problem!" Zack cried. He felt a weight lift from his chest. "But…I can tell there's something. I just haven't been able to prove it." He ran a hand through his hair. "Riley says he's just a friend, that she's never dated him. But…I don't know. He seems really close to her. And when he talks to her it's obvious something happened. I ask her about it but she keeps denying it."

"Do you think she's lying to you?"

"I don't know."

"But she's lied to you before." A statement, not a question. Riley _had_ lied to him before. But that was when Robert was still around, and she was trying to keep her home life a secret. That was normal. He understood that. "Do you think she's untrustworthy?"

"No."

"Do you think _you_ are? And that's why she's not talking to you?"

"I haven't lied to her since we started dating," Zack said slowly. "Not about anything serious anyway. Maybe about if I did my homework or what I was doing before she calls me. But nothing big. I do think, because I used to lie to girls I was interested in and who I was dating, that she doesn't quite trust me fully."

"That's understandable. And I don't blame her—"

"—Neither do I," Zack said honestly. Sincerely. It shocked him how sincere he sounded to himself. He dropped his hands from his mouth and back to his lap, now playing with his fingers.

"Does she know that?"

"I hope she does. We don't talk about it?"

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn't like to talk about what happened back then." Something struck Zack then. Something that made his heart drop. "Does that mean something did happen with them? And I'm not being paranoid?"

Dr. Morrison shrugged and started to pack his things together after looking at his watch. Their session was coming to an end. "Does it?"

"So, you're saying I should do what I've been doing so far? What Cody suggested I should do?" Zack asked. He looked up at Dr. Morrison through his eyelashes. "That I should just trust her?" He paused when Dr. Even when I know something's wrong?"

"Yes," Dr. Morrison agreed. "Because there's clearly something she hasn't come to terms with yet that she doesn't want to share with you. Pressuring her isn't going to get her to talk. But, you need to trust yourself, too. Tell her that you're worried, tell her that you know something is going on and that you're not going to push her, but that you're there for her for if and when she decides to tell you."

"And if that doesn't work?"

Dr. Morrison shrugged. "You'll have to deal with it. But there's something else I want you to do in the meantime." Zack looked at him curiously. "Try not to let this get to you too much. Because you have to remember that your feelings matter too. Once things are out of your hands, are out of your control, it's not up to you to fix things."

Zack nodded.

It wasn't up to him to fix things.

If that was true. Then he probably had to come to terms with the fact he may not be in a relationship when things ended. Because he wasn't quite sure how much longer he could watch Riley hurting and not be able to do anything about it.

* * *

 **A/N:** Oh, things are going to come to a head soon, especially after the last chapter. I hope you guys are ready for it. Things will get crazy. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I always liked getting into Zack's head with these moments with his therapist as well as in his journal in _Save Me From Myself and Help Me, Save Me._

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	10. The Truth Is A Commodity

**Chapter Ten:** The Truth Is A Commodity

* * *

"You're drifting."

"Sorry." Max jerked on the steering wheel, pulling the car back into a straight line. Pulled a little too hard toward the left and had to jerk it back to the right. Against the sound of a horn honking around them, Bailey, Riley, Rhuben, and Crystal all cried out in surprise, holding tightly onto their phones as they threatened to fly form their hands. "Sorry!"

"Who decided to let you drive again?" Crystal asked, lifting her chin to look at the road racing along before them.

"None of us did," Bailey said. "Max was the one who decided to drive. And basically threatened us if we didn't let her."

Max snorted. "That's because the rest of you suck at listening to directions," she pointed out. Max lifted her chin and looked in the rearview mirror, taking in Riley, who started to grin, turning to press her mouth into her palm. "Who was the one who sent us down to Florida when we were trying to get to New York last year?"

"It's not my fault that you said 'right' when I asked which exit was the one I was supposed to be taking," Riley pointed out, quickly defending herself. She wasn't offended by the accusation, it was something they could laugh about a lot. "And, you were the one who said it was one of the best vacations you'd ever taken, yeah? So, you're welcome."

"I was saying 'right' as in 'you're right' when you were asking me," Max replied. She bobbed her head back and forth. "But you're right, that trip to Florida was even better than what we could've had in New York."

"Yeah, 'cause it was warm."

" _And_ cause you didn't leave the beach for more than a few hours at a time," Crystal pointed out to her cousin. "Not even when we wanted to go to Disney World." Riley smiled and shrugged, snuggling deeper into her sweatshirt. "And you're being real pathetic right now, it's not cold."

"New York is always cold unless it's summer," Rhuben declared, to the laughter of all the girls. "It's a conspiracy, I swear."

"Aww." Bailey mimed a pout, running her hands through her hair. "Poor Cody. He'll have to miss out on all those romantic gestures that New York has to offer." Bailey's eyes widened as the rest of the girls groaned. "What? New York is, like, one of _the_ romantic places in New York! Not to mention one of the tourist capitals of the world, there's so much to see; Harlem, Brooklyn, the Statue of Liberty—"

"—You clearly are a tourist," Max murmured. She shook her head. "New York is filled with people and trash and those that have an idealistic view of the city."

"So, why are we going again?"

"Because we're part of that group that has an idealistic view of the city and I'm not afraid to admit it." Max laughed. "Besides, the sooner we get our college visits out of the way, the sooner we can have some fun." She cleared her throat. "And not destroy my house any further than it already was."

"The damage wasn't _that_ bad was it?" Riley asked.

She couldn't quite remember what'd happened the rest of the night. She'd become too focused on how easily Ian had gotten to her. Again. How he always got to her. All because he knew the buttons to push. Knew exactly what would…potentially destroy her life, really.

Too many memories of things she'd told him. Of the days and nights where they'd have vulnerable conversations that…that he'd skillfully weasel his way out of saying anything meaningful and getting her to open up. He'd taken advantage of her in the worst way, in hindsight. Giving her attention— _positive_ attention—she'd craved while Robert had been around. He was smart, and she was stupid. And now it was coming back to bite her in the ass.

Why?

She wasn't quite sure. She couldn't tell what Ian really wanted out of everything. Couldn't tell what he was gaining form it, other than watching her squirm. Having that sickening smirk on his face, that dark flash in his dark eyes that no one else noticed. He played his role perfectly; model son, model athlete, a model citizen in every sense of the word.

There were only a few people that knew the truth about him—her and her family—and it frustrated her to know how easily people were able to be fooled by him. His presence, to that extent, simply put her in a bad mood whenever he was around.

Had Zack noticed—she was sure he did—he didn't say anything. Simply stuck by her side and made her laugh with his silly dancing, off-key singing, and heated argument with Cody, Tapeworm, and members of the basketball team over who was the better character to use in Super Smash Bros.

The thought made Riley smile, slightly jolting back to attention when Bailey changed the radios to a 90s and 90s station, causing Bon Jovi to burst through the speakers. The girls sang along with song after song—stopping every few miles to yell at Max for drifting into other lanes because she'd get too into dancing her in seat—as they drifted further and further into New York.

As they went along, passing them through the tunnel that led them into New York, everything around them changed. The buildings were much taller, on an even grander scale than what Boston boasted. The Statue of Liberty posed in the distance, the allure of Times Square pulled the girls forward, the feeling that in New York, anything could happen.

You could follow your dreams.

Do whatever you wanted.

Have a good time.

And, Riley realized with a start, it was probably going to be some of the last few times she'd have with her friends. They'd all be going their separate ways soon. Crystal would be going to college back in Canada, Riley and Rhuben were planning on going back to Australia for university. Bailey was going to Yale. And Max…who still hadn't decided where she was going to go, at least knew she wanted to study sports management and event planning—merging two points of her life together; sports and having a good time.

Riley was never one who became too emotional when it came to leaving people. She was used to them leaving her, found that the more it happened she continued to become more and more numb to it. But that was before.

Before realizing how much she enjoyed having them around. Before realizing how much her friends were there for each other when things got rough. At one point or another, something was going on that they helped each other through; they helped Bailey and Moose get acclimated to city life, helped Tapeworm when he was being bullied throughout middle school, helped out Zack with his school work multiple times—and every other trouble he'd gotten himself into as of late—they helped her and Rhuben when things with Robert came to light, and and and…

So many things over the years that strengthened their relationships with each other. So much so that when Riley sent off the response that she would indeed be going to school in Australia, she'd wanted to cry. What was the point of going through a big turning point in your life if you didn't have your friends to experience it with you. Not to mention the potential prospect of long distance dating. (Of which she and Zack never seemed to talk about).

Riley sighed, running her hands over her face, suddenly feeling a little anxious. Who wouldn't be when they knew the only thing stopping everything from ending up in total disaster was her, when all she had to do was open her mouth and tell the truth.

Unlike what most people thought—that telling the truth was the best way to go about life—Riley understood telling the truth was a commodity. There were people who couldn't handle it, let alone those that deluded themselves into thinking _their_ version of the truth was all that mattered.

In her experience, fi she told the truth about anything, it just brought problems. Every time she told the truth about Robert—before something was finally done—she'd be beaten so hard she was out of school for days. Other times she told the truth, people simply didn't believe her. Why continue to tell people the truth if you could see through their eyes, their mind wandering to anything else that needed their attention?

Then there was the truth finally coming out. Once people found out about Robert, her world imploded. She was pulled from school by the police, separated from her siblings, questioned for hours, whispers of potentially being sent back to Australia—and probably back into foster care. Separated from her siblings even further. Then there were the pitying looks, the whispers. They may have been too young to have their names published in the newspaper when the news broke, but it was easy to put a name to a face, especially when a reputation proceeded their arrival at the school.

It became worse, when people were just being nice. Riley hated Cody at one point, hated that he cared so damn much about what was happening to them. Had a soft spot for Zack who ignored it and continued to act normally—maybe, if she were being honest, that was when she'd started to like him. When he treated her normally compared to acting like she'd shatter into a million pieces once something was sharply said her way.

Things moved quickly after that, Christian found them, moved his family to Boston to stay with them, things got better.

And with the arrival of one person from Australia, it started to crash down again.

"What's wrong?"

Riley looked up at Crystal's question, noticing that Max had flicked on the turn signal and was looking over her shoulder to merge to the side of the road. Max frowned down at the steering wheel, as if it'd explain everything to her. "The car's shaking funny, I want to pull over and check if anything's wrong."

Rhuben, sitting directly next to her twin sister, glanced at Riley, and lightly rolled her eyes. "That's Riles." She reached out and grabbed Riley's knee, digging her fingers into the sides to hold her still. "She's bouncing her leg." Rhuben then lifted her gaze to meet Riley's. She twitched her eyebrows upwards. _You okay_

A silent question.

Riley barely shook her head in response. _No._

A silent reply.

A leftover from a life they used to lead. What used to be a language only the two of them understood when they were babies and toddlers, then shifted to silent communication so not to draw Robert's ire, and make faces behind teachers' backs.

Rhuben twisted her mouth to the side. _You're going to tell them._ A statement, not a question. Riley nodded. Crystal glanced at her cousins but didn't say anything. As if sensing the decision that'd been made. Finally, Rhuben nodded and squeezed her sister's knee once more, before dropping her hand.

Riley smiled a little.

In any movie or TV show, the audience would've expected a sisterly hug, or a declaration that they'd always be there for each other. Cue the sappy music. Cue the waterworks. Cue the audience being prompted to 'aww' in that canned, artificial way that audiences ate up.

That was the problem with the media; they acted like everything they showed was the truth. Riley and Rhuben hardly ever hugged, hardly held hands, hardly acted the way 'twins were supposed to' and felt relieved when they found Zack and Cody were the same way. Though, truth be told, as with Zack and Cody, they used to be that way.

They used to hold hands and run around the house, giggling at whatever was making them laugh. Doing whatever it was that made Julius deem them 'monsters' when they were young knowing they were cute enough to get away with almost everything despite wanting to be the one to follow them around making sure they weren't getting in _too_ much trouble.

Then life happened, the harshest version of life that no one should ever experience, and it stopped. Presenting the girls with an opportunity to be prepared for the time that they would be inevitably split up, turning their attention towards their brothers instead. Turning their attention towards the parts of life they couldn't control that ultimately wreaked havoc on their way of life later.

"What's wrong?" Max immediately demanded. She flicked her gaze to the rearview mirror, aggressive stare cutting into Riley's. "Do I have to beat someone up?"

Riley gave a startled laugh. It started that way. Then she started to laugh for real. "No, but I wish you would," she said.

Bailey faked a gasp. She placed a hand to her chest, whipped around in her seat and fluttered her eyelashes in surprise. " _You_ don't want to beat someone up? I must be talking to the wrong person. Who are you and what have you done with Riley?"

"I'm fine," Riley said quickly. "Just…if I were the one to beat him up, it'd probably bring me more trouble than anything else I've already been through." Silence stretched through the car. "It's about Ian," she said slowly.

Bailey moved her hand from her chest. A concerned look came to her face. "Is something going on?"

"Yeah, I always said the guy was weird, but if there _is_ anything—"

Riley lifted her hand, cutting Max off. "He hasn't done anything—"

"—yet—"Rhuben broke in.

Riley nodded in agreement. "But…there's some stuff he's done back home. And I thought I was able to move past it, but I realized I didn't. And probably won't."

"What'd he do to you? He didn't…?"

"No!" Riley said quickly. "No. I wouldn't let him come close to touching me like that." Riley lowered her chin, letting out a sigh of shame. Not because of what happened, but because of how stupid she felt saying it out loud. Because of how stupid she felt when everything happened, having to relive it was almost torture. "He was dating someone, made me think he was going to break up her with, strung me along for a long time."

Max's fast screwed up in confusion. "But what does that have to do with—"

"There were a lot of things he held over my head," Riley continued, knowing how dumb it sounded. She could tell from the expression on Max's face. So, she got led on by a boy. So, what? Zack had to have done that to more than half of Boston by that point. "I told him a lot about some of the things I'd do for fun. Some of the things I'd do that got me in trouble," she said slowly, watching everyone's face.

Rhuben then spoke up. "We used to be friends with some pretty bad people and we'd get into a lot of things."

"What'd you do?" Bailey asked. She and Max exchanged a glance. "We won't tell anyone. Promise."

"We'd steal," Riley said. She smiled a humorless smile. Something short of a horrified one, that couldn't even come close to what she felt about it. "Vandalize. Take things. Cause a right ruckus because we could, yeah? It was fun…until people got hurt." Enough for them to get the point, but still enough.

There were things she'd _never_ tell anyone, let alone allow herself to think about it.

"And he's holding that over your head?" Bailey asked. Riley nodded. "Can't you call the police or something?"

"We said the same thing," Crystal pointed out. "There's not much they can do about it if he hasn't done anything. Dad says it'd a good idea to start a file on him, just in case, but…" she trailed off with a shrug.

"Are we the only ones who know?" Bailey asked.

"Yep."

Bailey hummed. She sat back in her seat, pursing her lips, the same way she always did when she was mentally working out a problem. She shifted back and forth a few times, but still didn't say anything. Max drummed her fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the song.

Finally, Max sucked in a deep breath. "If you really don't want us to do anything," Max said slowly. She shrugged, cursing under her breath when the car shifted with her movement once more. "Then we won't. But, if you need help, you know we're here for you."

"Yeah, whatever you need, we'll be glad to help," Bailey agreed.

"I know," Riley agreed. And, intuitively, she did know it. Knew that the second she said something they'd be on her side. Nevertheless, it was hard to talk about anything like that, to be that vulnerable knowing how much it'd blown up in her face before. "Thanks, you're both legends."

Max and Bailey nodded.

Silence stretched through the car.

"So…Are you _sure_ you don't want me to beat him up?" Max asked.

The girls laughed.

* * *

 **A/N:** As usual, sorry for the wait on the chapter. But now you know what's keeping Riley from saying anything about what Ian's been doing. And why she may be hesitant to tell Zack, and explains how Ian's not Riley's boyfriend. Anywho, there's plenty more where this came from. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	11. I Can Take Care Of Myself

**Chapter Eleven:** I Can Take Care Of Myself

* * *

Surprisingly, Zack listened intently to the tour guide that showed them around the NYU campus. At first, he was completely against using any of his time away from Boston in the "City that never sleeps" to walk around some stupid, stuffy school. And even momentarily hated Cody for arranging it behind his back. (Which, incidentally, wasn't behind his back and, apparently, he hadn't been listening to Cody at all when he first brought it up). But found himself, unknowingly, swept up by everything the school had to offer.

And, incidentally, he hated himself even more for liking it. Not just because of everything that went along with it; the stuffy looking dorms, the large words the student guide used to appear as PR friendly as possible—Zack knew enough about PR when looking up the easiest ways to run businesses when a streak of curiosity got the better of him, the long walks from one building to another, the feeling that he wasn't right for the place.

No, he hated himself for knowing there was a very, _very_ low chance that he'd be able to go to that school and enjoying it so much just made it harder. It was like taking candy from a baby, he thought with a minute scowl, still listening to the student as they happily jawed away about the sporting events and concerts that had been held at NYU. All the notable alumni they had.

And the programs.

Not just the regular Math, Science, English, History…it went deeper than that. Art classes like pottery and stage design, and game development and production. An entire degree about video games. If there was anything in life he was good at, it was playing video games. All types; button smashing, puzzles, RPGs, MMORPGs, almost every game in existence, he'd tried out and enjoyed in some way. As he grew older and his tastes in games changed, Zack found himself enjoying and exploiting little bugs and glitches in the games he played as much as he enjoyed the games themselves.

And now, to know that he could have an entire education about it…something he'd never be able to achieve? All because of his grades, his aptitude to schoolwork, his aversion to wanting to push himself, would make it so that he'd never get to the school he could only dream of.

So he pretended to be bored with it, pretended to roll his eyes whenever the student said something that was supposed to sound impressive. Acted like he was above it all when, in actuality, he grew increasingly enamored with the school while simultaneously remembering why the people that'd crushed his dreams before he could even try.

He remembered how Miss. Tutweiller had given him that sad, funny smile when he mentioned, maybe, wanting to got NYU at some point. That was long before having had gone to see it. It was a name he threw out after a small amount of research to appease his parents when they asked what schools he'd been looking at. (And grew tired of him saying, "I don't know" in response).

Remembered the way she'd said, "Maybe we can look at some other schools. Maybe a community college first," while looking at him with so much pity that he could barely hold her gaze.

He got the message loud and clear; he wasn't good enough to go.

And seeing it in person was a harsh reminder of that. He wasn't good enough. Not good enough to keep his spot on the basketball team, so he had to overcompensate and got an eating disorder. Not good enough in school, so he focused on sports, which ultimately had him feel he wasn't good enough and resulted in an eating disorder…a vicious cycle.

"And here's one of the dorm buildings," the student said, swiping an ID card on the face of a building before bustling in the group off the street. That was another reason why Zack tried to stay as quiet, it wasn't just them on the tour, but some other, actual students from other schools on the tour as well. Just because he was bitter didn't mean he had to ruin it for everyone else.

Zack stuck out his foot just as Cody moved through the door, pitching him forward and onto his hands and knees. Cody glared back at him, prompting Zack to smirk, while the tour guide said cheerfully, "Watch your step there, the footpath's a little raised."

"Really?" Bailey asked, shooting Zack a look as she helped Cody off the ground. "You can't behave for more than a few minutes?"

"I can," Zack easily replied. "Just when I'm not being bored to death."

Bailey shook her head. "There's more than enough here to hold your attention, Zack, I can't believe a place like this would bore you."

At that, Zack counted on his fingers. "Anything that isn't girls, food, video games, or sports isn't enough to hold my attention." He paused and bobbed his head. "Comic books, maybe, but not much more than that. Especially snot-nosed students who are only doing this to stay in the good books of stupid college politics." He looked to her. "I hope when you get to Yale that you don't fall into that trap."

A twinge of guilt rocked Zack's stomach then, knowing how purposeful he was being, directing his words to Bailey. Cody still hadn't said anything to the others about not getting in yet, though it was only a matter of time. Why would else would he continue to focus on other colleges when Yale was his one and only dream school? If anyone was good at keeping up appearances, it certainly was Cody.

Zack didn't know anyone else who could put on the largest smile even though, deep inside, he was slowly crumbling apart.

"Meeting new people and experiencing new things isn't falling into a trap," Bailey reassured him. "It's becoming worldlier. More experienced. Opening yourself up to what life has to offer." She wagged her finger at him, following the group further into the dorm. "You know, before moving here, I thought of applying for the Semester at Sea Program with the SS Tipton."

"Oh yeah?" Zack remembered it being mentioned to him and Cody once before. They'd gone to the SS Tipton to try and receive a free holiday on the cruise ship. Of course, it ended in disaster as everything tended to when he and Cody were involved. So much so that Mr. Moseby practically banned them from going. "What made you decide not to go?"

"Money," Bailey said simply.

"Ah."

"Same with college. It's why I worked so hard to get so many scholarships."

"Oh, so you mean you're really not a grade grubber?" Zack smirked when Bailey punched him hard on the arm. She moved to stand close to the front of the group again, where Cody and Max listened intently. Tapeworm, who already had his early decision application at MIT accepted, stood toward the back with Moose, who deemed he more than likely wasn't going to college anyway.

Riley, Rhuben, and Crystal stood near each other, which wasn't too weird. Zack wasn't quite sure why he noticed it, what, if anything, had made him notice it more than anything else. They'd grown much closer over the years than they had when he first met them. Still, there was something about the way they stood almost shoulder to shoulder, like a wall, was setting him off.

He tried listening to what Dr. Morrison said, allowing Riley to know he was there to help if she ever needed it and wait for her to say something to him. But patience had never been his forte. Especially when he wasn't entirely sure if he was the one who was setting her off.

It was a little strange that when they decided to drive to New York that they went separately, it was almost a thing now that all the couples went together. But Max had insisted—and actually twisted Tapeworm's arm—to make it so that the girls and boys drove separately. Even then, Zack didn't say anything about it, and his curious nature—his mom and dad said it was his inability to not snoop—was going off the charts.

Still, he managed to bite his tongue, wanting nothing more than for everyone to have a good time at once. So, Zack turned his attention to the student who walked them into the common area, filled with students perched on couches and chairs, watching TV or studying, others with laptops in their laps, headphones strung from the jacks to their ears. Some were arranged around pool and foosball tables, the loud sounds of the balls clacking together, while others leaned against a air hockey table, speaking quietly about a flyer one of them waved around.

"So, if you'll follow me this way, I can show you what one of the rooms looks like. One of the students here was gracious enough to allow you all in and wants to talk about life in New York."

Zack let out a long sigh when he heard that. _How much longer are we going to waste here?_ Zack thought, itching to go out and actually have some fun. He ran a hand through his bangs, lowering his beanie further over his head and looked over to his friends. Cody looked back at him, exasperation filled his eyes, seeming to fell the same Zack was.

"Are you really going to be this much of a jerk the whole time we're here?" Cody asked.

"I'm not being a jerk," Zack replied. He folded his arms. "I'm just hungry. And bored. And tired." He looked to the ceiling. "And is there another way to say 'I don't want to be here?'." He gestured around the common area. "It's not like I'm going to be here next year anyway."

Cody's face and voice softened. "Yeah, but I might be," he replied.

"I know," Zack's voice lowered as well. "So, you should keep going with the tour and I'll just wait for you here and…" he looked over as some older girls, probably in their young twenties by his guess, walked by. "Meet some people." A suspicious expression slid across Cody's face, his eyes narrowing. "Relax, I'm just going to play some fooseball or something. I promise I won't tarnish your reputation just by existing."

"It's not my reputation I'm worried about."

"I know."

Cody patted Zack on the shoulder before backing away, continuing to watch him for a second before disappearing with the others. Zack watched his friends leave, making a small humming sound under his breath. That was odd, too. Not that it was wrong to want to pay attention to the tour, but no one'd really been saying anything to him much of that day. Almost as if he were an afterthought.

 _Or mom was right when saying no one wanted to be around my attitude,_ Zack thought with a light roll of his eyes.

He let out a long sigh, scratching the back of his neck, wondering what he was going to do as long as the others were gone. Not that he wasn't a social butterfly, Zack could talk to anyone, but getting into mischief was more fun when he had someone to do it with.

"Your friends leave you, yeah?" Zack let out a growling sigh, turning around to face Ian, who came to a stop on the other side of the fooseball table, hands in the pockets of his jeans. He looked Zack up and down. "Feeling a little lonely?"

"Are you following me now?" Zack asked.

Ian muttered something under his breath in Spanish then said louder, "I'm just doing a college visit."

"And you just so happened to come to this one today of all days?"

Ian laughed. "I can't help what my mom scheduled before we came out here. Remember? I'm looking at things all over. I reckon it's not a bad place, pretty close to some other schools, other cities…" he trailed off, reaching out to spin one of the players in a circle. "Then again, I might just go to school back home." He looked Zack in the eye without blinking as he spoke. "It depends. What about you?"

"I haven't decided yet," Zack said stiffly.

"Well, we can't all have our futures planned out for us." Ian stopped spinning the player and leaned TO the side, grabbing the ball from the goal. He placed it in the middle of the table. "Play a round?" Zack opened his mouth to protest, but Ian quickly intervened with, "Just before our groups get back. I don't know about you, but I couldn't handle those yobbos much longer."

Zack continued to watch Ian, before stepping forward and grabbing the poles that stuck out on his end. The two started up the game, focusing hard on the game before them. They played in silence for a long while, making it easier for Zack to grit his teeth in annoyance when Ian spoke again.

"So, what'd you think of the party?" He asked.

Zack tightened his grasp on his poles, knuckles turning white. "What party?" He feigned. He spun the pole hard, smacking the ball to the other side of the table.

"Max's," Ian replied. "She's got a nice place. I didn't expect there to be so many people there."

"I didn't expect you to be invited," Zack replied.

Ian lifted the side of his mouth in a smile. "Word got around pretty quick, people just showed up. It was a pretty good time. Except this one guy who seemed to want to piss off everyone there." He scratched his neck, momentarily giving Zack the chance to score a goal. "I think that guy from the basketball team."

 _Yes._ Zack smiled up at Ian, who smiled back. It didn't reach his eyes, however, almost seeming shark like when he retrieved the ball and dropped it back to the table. "Drew? Yeah, he's a dick at the best of times. A complete prick at the worst."

"I'm sure you can relate," Ian said. He snapped a shot into Zack's goal. Zack frowned, clenching his jaw as he retrieved the ball himself. "Being on the team I mean," he added much too late to ease the sting off what Zack was sure he really meant. "Heard he gets around a bit."

Zack couldn't help but snort. It wasn't quite what he'd say about Drew. Drew didn't just get around, it was more that he commanded attention from the girls in the school. Once he got tired of one he went after another one, sometimes while he was still seeing the first girl. In some ways, Zack knew they had that in common, but he at least didn't let the girls think there was anything more than kissing that'd be involved, unless they gave him the go-ahead.

But he'd managed to put that behind him when he started to date Max. Why did it constantly have to be shoved in his face?

"I don't know about that," Zack said.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"'I mean, word gets around. Especially around here, seems like everyone wants to talk about everyone else." Ian flicked his gaze up to Zack before scoring again. He casually tossed and caught the ball before dropping it back into the center of the table. "What do people say about me?"

 _That you're an absolute psycho,_ Zack thought. Instead he shrugged and said, "People don't really talk about you, dude." _I guess you're not that interesting,_ he wanted to add, but decided against it. Didn't want to give him too much power over him.

"Huh." Ian's eyebrows twitched. "Interesting. What about you? What do people say about you?"

Zack immediately halted the pole in his hand. "Why?" He demanded. "Haven't you heard everything yet? How I went through girls and tossed them away like napkins? How I fucked more than half the city? Or how I decided to get so much attention on myself and made myself throw up just so I could be better at basketball?"

Ian blinked innocently. "I meant more of dating someone with a record." He continued to look at Zack innocently, a fake innocence Zack had managed to perfect over the years. As the seconds stretched out before them, Ian tilted his head aside. Mirth flashed through his eyes. "You mean, you didn't know?"

Zack new Ian was baiting him. Knew he was simply trying to get a rise out of him. Knew the tiny lift of the corner of Ian's mouth was proof of it. But couldn't help himself. He was tired of the nagging point in the back of his head that he couldn't quite down. The sing-song voice that was telling him something was wrong, easily being beaten down by the voice that—annoyingly—sounded like his mother or brother at any given moment, said not to let his insecurity show.

He couldn't help it.

He had to ask.

"Didn't know what?" he asked.

The mirth in Ian's eyes turned to a fire-like gleam, though the serious expression on his face didn't change. As growing fire of competition. "That she's been arrested." Zack didn't have to ask who the 'she' he was referring to. "Not just her, really. You should look into the whole family. If I were you, mate, I'd keep my distance. You don't know what they can do."

Zack licked his lips, steadied himself for his words to potentially fail. "She's mentioned it to me before," Zack said with as much false bravado as he could muster. Ian glanced at him, briefly lifting his eyes from the table. "It's nothing I didn't already know."

"I'm just saying, dude, I'd be careful—"

Zack flicked his wrist, shifting the pole backwards at the same time, perfectly shooting the ball directly into the Ian's goal. He looked Ian in the eye, staring him down as he said, "I can take care of myself, thanks."

Ian pursed his lips and backed away from the fooseball table. His eyes flashed, shoulders tensed.

Zack smiled to himself.

Message received.

* * *

 **A/N:** Once again, sorry for the wait, but at least it brings Zack into things a bit more. It is going to be coming to a head.

So, I have a question for you guys, do you prefer stories where Zack is the 'victim', so to speak, of the plot with Riley supporting him like _Save Me From Myself_ and _Help Me Save Me,_ or the other way around like this one? Do you prefer them getting together or their relationship when they are together?

I'm curious.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	12. I Don't Like To Be Made A Fool Of

**Chapter Twelve:** I Don't Like To Be Made A Fool Of

* * *

Riley would never say she was a paranoid person. Pragmatic, yes. Realistic. Sure. Self-preserving. Absolutely. Intuitive, perceptive, ready. A bunch of things. But the last thing she'd say was that she was paranoid. No. She'd trained herself to be the sort of person to notice things around her, to know what was coming her way, to have an idea within the first few seconds of being around someone if she were in danger or not.

Courtesy of Robert, who managed to turn asking a simple question into something that would make the entire house afraid to breathe in case the object nearest to him was suddenly a projectile launched to cause more than enough damage that warranted a trip to the ER.

On the downside, Riley didn't overtly trust people. Having had been put into the foster care system and then taken in by Robert made her almost a Mama Bear, protecting her own heart as much as she protected her family. It took more than enough time for her to let people in, whether they wanted to be there or not. There had to be a time when she felt there was something she was going to get form it; a feeling of absolute safety.

Fight, flight, freeze was a real thing. Often, Riley fought. Running away was only something she thought of when it was evident fighting back wasn't a good idea, and if she ever froze—which wasn't very often—it lasted a second. The brief moment for her to figure out what her game plan was. If the frozen feeling lasted any longer, she quickly shifted that energy into anger and attacked the person before she could be attacked.

And it wasn't anything that had to be an inherent danger that got her stuck. But new situations, new people, and feeling that there was something coming closer to her that she couldn't quite see coming.

It's why she didn't feel she was being especially paranoid when Zack treated her differently, the moment they came back from the tour of the dorm building. He'd been leaning against a wall nearby the foosball table, eating a bag of chips he'd gotten from a nearby vending machine, tossing it away when he noticed the group coming back. She glanced at the trashcan, noticing there were a few more bags than the one he'd tossed inside. She quickly made the connection he was upset about something, remembering the way Maddie had astutely pointed out that Zack tended to overeat when he was emotional about something.

Riley looked back at him and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Zack looked back at her, lifting his eyebrows to appear innocent. Something she'd seen a lot from him over the years, knowing he'd need it to get out of a situation that would otherwise have people angry at him. So, true to Zack, he'd worked to perfect it over the years. Unfortunately, that time, he'd managed to make it unbelievable by adding in a gentle fluttering of his eyelashes.

To that, Riley couldn't help but smirk. "You're a good actor, but I reckon you're a terrible liar." A light stab at his acting chops; drama class wasn't his favorite, but Zack had been in enough plays—just to soak up the spotlight—for anyone to know he had a bit of talent with it. When he was lying, however, it was more difficult for him to appear believable, simply due to how believable he wanted to appear. At her comment, Zack rolled his eyes and turned away from her, his mood slipping even further. Riley reached for his hand, frowning herself, when he pulled out of the way. "Seriously, Z, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Zack said quickly. He ran a hand through his hair, looking over at Cody, frowning harder as he watched his twin brother enthusiastically converse with the tour guide, waving his hands back and forth as they nodded at each other. "Can we go now?" Riley lifted her eyebrows and folded her arms. Zack let out a low sigh under his breath as he turned back to her. "I just want to start having fun."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Good, because I was thinking the same thing," Riley admitted. She nodded towards the common room. "Don't et me wrong, uni visits are important, but I…" she shook her head, her strand of dyed red hair falling into her face. "New York is supposed to be bloody awesome."

Zack tapped the tip of her nose. "Now you're speaking my language. There's more to life than college and classes and papers and tests and…" he started to open and close as if it were talking. Riley smiled to herself, glad to have turned his mood around. His eyes shone with mischief as he grabbed her hand, gave her a peck and said, "Let's go have some real fun."

But the fun was short lived, at least in Riley's case, because she knew exactly what had made Zack's mood sour. It was the only thing that made her mood shift within seconds and, honestly, she wouldn't put it past Ian if he'd managed to follow them to New York somehow. He always seemed to know where she was.

Thankfully, she had enough know-how to know how to deal with him. So when they got to their hotel—which Zack and Cody made sure was not another Tipton after what happened when they traveled to California—Riley quickly slipped away on the guise that she was going for a walk and pulled out her phone, dialing a number as she left the hotel, hovering in the doorway.

Ian picked up on the first ring with a drawl that made it obvious he was waiting to hear from her. "How was your tour?"

Riley ignored his tone, and his question, tightening her grasp on her phone. "Where are you?" She demanded.

"You want to see me already? That was fast."

"I'm being fucking serious."

Ian sighed heavily, almost as if he were bothered by the whole conversation. No, not almost, Riley knew. He was bothered by the conversation. He didn't like to be spoken to that way, she knew from experience. Knew from the way he'd grabbed her arms and shoulders when she would. Ian hung up, prompting Riley to curse under her breath and hang up her own phone.

She tapped it against her chin, letting out a huff through her nose. She turned her gaze to her phone background, smiling when she saw the familiar picture of her and Zack squeezing each other's faces until their lips puckered came up. In seconds, it faded back to the picture of her family she had on her lock screen, where they had all their faces pressed together and cheesed for the camera. Two of her favorite pictures.

Closing her eyes, Riley was suddenly hit with an equal wave of sadness and irritation. She was happy, the happiest she'd ever been before Ian came. And the second he'd arrived in that restaurant, she felt herself slowly morphing back into the person she was when she first arrived in Boston. The person that, after enough trials and tribulations, managed to break through that was Zack. It started simply; she couldn't stand him, couldn't stand the fact the had an excuse for everything he did wrong and to escape the wrath of people mad at him, couldn't stand that he couldn't come up with a reason for anything that he did, couldn't stand that he worked to manipulate everyone around him.

But, mostly importantly, she didn't like him so much because he was quickly growing close to her. She saw quickly how much they had in common from dynamics in their family to their interests. And that terrified her. Terrified her to know she was starting to fall for someone like that, but also because of how close he would come to know what was going on with her and her siblings and Robert.

Of course, once he and Cody found out, they quickly told their parents and anyone who would listen. (Though Riley and Rhuben did threaten their lives if they'd even thought about it). And, in retrospect, it was the best thing to happen to them. They wouldn't have had to the lives or the relationships now without it.

Riley looked at her phone once more, smiling gently at her home screen. Had anyone told her that she would've willingly and happily dated Zack later on down the line, she would've laughed and said they were crazy, despite feeling the same amount of hope she'd tried to stamp out when anyone else would bring it up.

"Geez, I don't think I've ever seen you like this," Ian said from behind her. Riley didn't jump, didn't react more than to look over her shoulder. She had a feeling he was close to her, close to the hotel. _He has to have control over everything somehow,_ she reminded herself. When Riley looked at him, Ian scowled toward her phone. Then he lifted his chin and smirked. "I don't know if I like it or not."

"Mm," Riley mused. "Because I wasn't like this with you, yeah?"

"That's it," Ian said sarcastically. "I needed you mooning over me like an idiot at every turn."

Riley shot him a devious smile. "You're jealous." A crack in his mask appeared, the slight twitch of the corner of his mouth. Riley pressed forward with it. "You're jealous because you don't have someone." She snorted then added tauntingly, "Unless you're still with your girlfriend."

Quickly, Ian rearranged his features to appear aloof. "Of course, I'm still with her, I love her."

"You sure were in love with her when you started crawling after me," Riley pointed out.

Ian twisted his mouth to the side. He reached out and pressed a finger into Riley's shoulder, hard enough to jerk her shoulder back. "You were the one who crawled after me," he said, voice turning dangerously low. He bared his teeth. "And kept crawling even though you knew I was with her."

Riley got back in his face. "You were the one who lead me on, made me think something was going to happen. All because you thought it was funny. Don't you dare try to act like you were innocent in the whole thing. Because the truth is—"

"—The truth is you were desperate for attention," Ian interrupted. He grasped Riley's face, pushing it back away from his, eyes filled with fury. "Any and all attention that you could get. You're an attention whore and that's why you fucking allow people to use you the way they bloody do." He looked her up and down, upper lip curling. "And now you're with someone whose run through half of Boston. You deserve each other." His smirk came back, eyes soulless. "If he still wants you, anyway."

At that, Riley felt her face enflame with rage. She knew he'd done something to alter Zack's mood. Ian was cunning and manipulative, but he liked to take credit for things he did. Finding a sick sort of pleasure in tricking people. Just as she'd seen Zack's innocent expression enough times, she'd seen Ian's manipulative smirk he'd flash when no one was paying attention. Only shown when he allowed his victim to let him know he'd won.

"What'd you tell him?" She demanded.

Ian tilted his head innocently. "Nothing he didn't already know."

Riley stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, yanking him toward her. Her eyes narrowed into a glare that made just about everyone that saw it quiver in intimidation. Ian, however, looked back at her. Typically, that would rattle her, having seen how aggression typically worked for her and for Robert for that matter, but her hatred for him quickly trumped anything else she was feeling.

" _What did you tell him?"_ She repeated.

At that, Ian reached up and grabbed her wrists. He squeezed tightly, as tightly as she held onto his collar, directing all his anger into the mounting pain in her wrists. "Again, nothing that he doesn't already bloody know." To drive the point home he added, "The way you're grabbing me…acting like one of them. It was you who was worried that you'd be as violent as Robert, right? That no one here would find out about your old friends?"

At that, Riley dropped her hands from Ian's collar, though he continued to hold onto her. Her eyes shifted, unfocused s his words hit her.

"But it's not just you, there's Rhu, and, you know, I wonder if your cousins would still want you there if they find out how dangerous you are."

"What do you want from me?" Riley finally asked. "Why are you doing this? Still? What do you bloody want from me?"

" _From_ you? Nothing." Ian finally released his hands from her wrist, making her wince at the sting of pain then the sudden release of pressure. "I don't want anything from you." He reached up and brushed her strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Riley winced and jerked her head back. His touch was marginally different than Zack's. "I care about you. I just want to be sure you're okay."

Riley stepped back from Ian, her mind whirring at a mile a minute. Wondering what it was, exactly, he'd told Zack of what she wanted to tell him herself. If she ever got around to it. Wondered how she could spin it so that he didn't give her the look she was terrified he'd give, that he didn't think she was a monster.

She turned on her heel and started to walk away.

Ian's tone immediately shifted. "I don't like to be made a fool of," he groused.

"That's all on you, mate," Riley tossed over her shoulder. She made it a few steps further before a searing pain shot through her hair. It took less than a second to recognize that pain, to take it from where she compartmentalized it and put a reason to it. He'd grabbed her hair and was pulling her back to him.

With a sharp yank of his hand, Ian pulled her head back until she had no choice but to arch herself back toward him. He put his mouth to her ear, breath hot and sour around her face. With his other hand, he grabbed the pressure points of her neck, making her weak in the knees as pain shot her. "I reckon'd you'd be smarter than that. "I figured, at least, that Zack would've chosen you for that. Must be hard to date someone so fucking dumb."

"I figured out how to navigate that when I met you," Riley replied, sucking a sharp breath between her teeth. She couldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how much pain he was inflicting on her. He already knew, anyway.

"Well." Ian smiled wickedly. "There's a reason why you liked me in the first place."

Riley frowned. _Don't remind me._

* * *

 **A/N:** Again, took me a bit longer to get this up but here you go. Another look into how Riley's doing with the whole thing. But now that Zack has an inkling of what's going on, he's not going to be kept in the dark much longer. Buuut, that doesn't mean things will go smoothly between them while they get to that point.

Let me know what you think.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	13. It's Not Fair To Me

**Chapter Thirteen:** It's Not Fair To Me

* * *

Zack rubbed his eyes, squinting against the bright screen in the otherwise darkened room. He leaned back in his chair and cracked his knuckles, waiting for the screen to load to start up the next campaign. He looked over at Tapeworm, who sat across from him, but leaned closer to his screen.

"That was a tough one," Tapeworm remarked. "Half of our army got taken out in that one."

"I know, I didn't cast my spells correctly," Zack replied. He shifted his lower jaw to the side. "I thought they'd go for more of an offensive approach this time, didn't work out so much." He heard a snorting sound behind him and looked around to see Cody sitting on the couch, shaking his head behind his book. "Can we help you?"

Cody lowered his book to his lap. "I just find it funny that you go on and on about how much of a nerd _I_ am, but you're the one who sits around playing those mindless computer games on a daily basis." He paused. "Did I say daily, I meant hourly?"

"I don't play that much," Zack defended himself.

"And you don't" Cody conceded. "After you finally managed to put down your magic wand."

There was a moment of silence where Zack looked to Tapeworm, who bit his lower lip, trying to stifle the giggle that slowly worked its way up. But it was Moose's laughter which thundered forward from the other side of the living room, where he'd spread himself across the couch watching a car race, that made the boys all burst out laughing.

Zack leaned back in his seat, placing his hands on his chest as he laughed hysterically. Tapeworm slumped forward over his laptop, pressing his face into the keys as he laughed. Cody, on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes at the laughing boys around him.

"Can't you all be mature for once in your lives?" He asked.

"I can," Zack said. "But hearing something like that come out of our mouth is one of the funniest things in the world." He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his seat, looking at his brother. "Who knew you had such a filthy mind?"

Cody glared at Zack. "Grow up, Zack. You knew what I meant."

"Yep. Totally did." Zack turned back to Tapeworm and made a jerking motion in front of the crotch of his pants, making Tapeworm and Moose laugh even harder. Zack didn't have to turn around to know Cody was shaking his head even further. "Oh, come on, Cody! Even you're not above thinking that's funny."

"Right, the constant and continued reference to a penis is the funniest thing in the world having heard it since we were in elementary school."

Tapeworm smiled and covered his mouth with his hand. He cleared his throat and sat up straight. "Are you sure you don't want to play a round with us?" He asked Cody. "There's still plenty of time for you to jump into this campaign."

"No, I need to finish my reading," Cody replied.

"Not to mention, he'd die within the first thirty seconds anyway," Zack added. He turned his attention back to his computer screen, squinting when there was a bright flash of light from the game's logo coming up on screen. "Like the last time and the time before that and the time before that—"

There was a low thumping sound that Zack recognized as Cody closing his book out of irritation. If he had simply finished it, he would've closed it lovingly. In a way that always made Zack look at him oddly, as if he were about to stroke the cover of the book and need a moment alone. "Just because I prefer to spend my time learning about computers and how they work rather than stare at a screen in the middle of the night with no protection for my eyes, doesn't mean I don't know how to have fun."

"Yes, it does."

Cody glared harder.

Tapeworm opened his mouth, ready to fall into the peacemaker role and keep them from fighting, but Moose was the one to break up the argument. "I don't know why you spend so much time on those things, anyway," he remarked. "There's more to life than staring at a gosh darn computer screen."

"Coming from the guy who's watching a street race on TV," Tapeworm shot back. "How is that any different?"

"Because you're watching some magical creatures that don't exist, _this_ "—he gestured towards the TV screen—"is real." He grabbed a pillow from the couch and whipped it towards Tapeworm, who grabbed it and threw it back. Moose stood up, placing his hands on his hips. "What can you learn from that thing that you can't learn in life?"

"How to not look like I'm one step away from the muscles on my body breaking my back."

"Better than looking like a twig. I could snap you in half over my knee." Moose held out his hands, wiggling his fingers towards him. "C'mon, let's see what a city boy can do." With that, Moose and Tapeworm dragged the pillows and cushions from the couches and piled them in the middle of the floor before they threw their arms around each other and started to try throwing each other to the ground.

Zack quickly exited the campaign he and Tapeworm were about to start, apologizing to the online players that they were going to be working with, and closed his laptop. He watched, letting out appreciative sounds when either of the boys did a particularly impressive body slam to the cushions before getting back to their feet and starting to grapple once more.

He thought back to the times that he and Cody had first moved into the Tipton and treated the hotel like their very own playground. Where their mother could come back to their hotel room and find an explosion of their toys, pillows, blankets, and mattresses strewn round the entire suite, from the front door to their bedroom, and the two wrestling each other to the ground over something trivial.

A wistful smile came to Zack's face. Back when things were easy for them; the only thing they had to worry about was girls they were too nervous to talk to, homework, and what video game they were going to play when they got back to their suite that night. When Cody went off to a math camp and Zack had to figure out how he truly missed his brother, where they ran around the Tipton looking for the rumored treasure of the hotel, where they tried to win a beauty pageant, where they tried to help Mr. Moseby from being Boston's #1 enemy after a baseball game. Where they were just normal kids.

Now, they had to worry about dating and relationships, and still being friends after going to college, their future, and taking things seriously. And, most importantly for Zack, how things were going to change once all his friends left and he was on his own. A summer math camp was one thing; just a week away, a few weeks at most. College was an entire other world; months upon months of being apart, making new friends, learning new things, become a more well-rounded person.

Leaving everything they used to know behind.

What was the point of trying to keep any relationship going if it were just going to fall apart?

Zack frowned, confused by the thought that suddenly came to mind. A thought he absolutely refused to let himself think about, that he pushed to the back of his mind and locked away so that it wouldn't wiggle its way forward once more. He even refused to talk about it when he met up with Mr. Blanket during counseling sessions, refused to talk about it when Dr. Morrison tried to bring it up, put up a blank wall when Miss. Tutweiller tried to talk about it during his weekly check-in with her and Principal Forgess.

How did one moment of letting his guard down bring it up again? _Probably because you know you're going to miss this,_ Zack admitted to himself. _More than you thought you would._ And, if he were being even more honest with himself, because he had a feeling he was going to lose his own romantic relationship sooner than he'd thought. Long distance relationships hardly worked; his parents certainly were the prime example of that. How did you keep a relationship going when you were on tour for about nine months of the year? Especially when the other person was at home taking care of infants by themselves.

It was no surprise that tensions managed to mount; loneliness was an overlooked emotion that could be as dangerous as an erupting volcano.

Zack frowned, realization suddenly coming to him. He already felt lonely and no one had left yet. Not literally, but figuratively…

"What's wrong?" Zack looked to the side to find Cody studying his brother carefully. Zack looked back to Moose and Tapeworm, where Moose had Tapeworms arms locked behind his back and was working to lift him off his feet, though the latter's long legs continued to dangle towards the ground, making Moose work all the harder to take him down. "And don't say nothing, because you haven't been yourself for a while now." Cody paused. "I mean, you've been even more of a jerk to me, but even you have your limits."

"Have I been?" Zack ran a hand through his hair. "I hadn't noticed."

"Yeah." Cody nodded. "You have been. But I can take it, you've done worse. But, then you were working through your problems so…" he trailed off. Zack's upper lip curled. He didn't particularly like it when anyone referred to his eating disorder as his 'problem'. Then again, he didn't particularly like it when people talked about it at all. But Cody had a free pass with it. He was his twin brother after all, and while Zack tried not to talk about it, at least Cody, in some way, understood it.

Understood his brother enough to understand when to and when not to bring things up. And helped him through his problems in a way that let Zack be more vulnerable than he was with anyone else in his life. It was one thing he was glad to have a more sensitive brother for. At least he wouldn't judge him.

Too much.

"This Ian thing must really be driving you crazy," Cody continued.

Zack wondered how Cody knew that was what was bothering him, and briefly wondered if there was anything _he_ knew that Zack hadn't been told. He wouldn't be too surprised, from the beginning, Riley had been a bit closer to Cody, which did set off Zack's jealousy a little bit. If she were going to tell anyone about what was going on with her, Cody would probably be the first.

Zack pressed his lips together, trying not to have the insecure thought that, since he was dating her, he was the one who was supposed to know first. Then had the second thought, maybe he was the problem.

"Not really," Zack denied.

Cody folded his arms. "Come on, Zack, I know you better than you know yourself." He thought for a moment. "Remember Tuck?"

At that, Zack couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Cody that was years ago. I was young and stupid."

"You were young, but you weren't stupid," Cody insisted. "You're not stupid, Zack. A bit crazy sometimes. And selfish. And immature. And—"

"—I get the point—"

"—I haven't gotten to my point," Cody said. His voice softened. "When Maddie was interested in Tuck, you were a bit jealous, sure. When she was interested in seeing some other guys, you thought of ways to better yourself. You did well in school and you even learned how to dance."

Right, that prom guy.

"But you've managed to grow out of that," Cody continued. "Even though, with all those guys that Maddie had been into, there was a time where you'd let it get to you and you'd find a way to get through it because you realized that Maddie was her own person and you didn't own her."

"I don't _own_ Riley," Zack reminded Cody. "Cause women aren't prizes to be won." Cody joined him as the two rolled their eyes, waved their hands, and droned, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," as if their mother had been in the room to remind them of the lesson once more. "What's your point?"

"My point is that now that you're in the position where you're afraid that you're going to have something taken from you in a time where everything is already changing," Cody said. "And I know you're going to let it eat you alive before you actually say anything. And then take it out on everyone else."

Zack sighed, lowering his chin. "Dr. Morrison said I needed to wait to let her talk to me—"

"—But does that mean that you're not allowed to talk to _her_? About your own feelings?"

Zack nodded and looked away from his brother. Maybe Cody was right. Maybe he was trying so hard to be a good guy, to be a good boyfriend—if he even was one—that he was ignoring his own feelings. Just as he had when he started down his dangerous relationship with food. He couldn't tell Cody how he truly felt about the one thing he felt he had to differentiate himself from his brother, to be his own person, was usurped by the attention Cody received from everyone around them.

So he kept it quiet, worked to be better, and made himself sick.

What was going to happen if he didn't say anything this time around.

Would he become an aggressive bully again, just as he had been when he was a kid and couldn't explain that he hated moving so much? Hated he was ripped form the friends he made only weeks or days before leaving again? Hated he knew no one and could only speak to his grandparents on the phone every few days or so. Hated seeing how much their mother struggled to keep food on the table and failed singing jobs that ultimately had them living out of a car before they moved in with their grandparents.

This was different.

Zack never had a reason to be jealous of any guys. He snorted quietly to himself, going through the list of guys that Cody had brought up only moments before. Okay, there were the few that Maddie had been interested in, but that was a long time ago. He was older. More mature. Still…he couldn't help but feel—at this point knew—something was being kept about him. The same thing that made Ian's presence something he couldn't stand. Maybe it's the sheer discomfort on her face whenever he ws around.

Because he'd seen that look before.

Multiple times, actually.

When Robert was still around.

"Thanks, Cody," Zack said, making Cody's eyebrows rise in surprise at the comment rather than an insult. "That really helped." He patted Cody on the shoulder before heading towards the front door. "Maybe all that insight into people will finally get you a girlfriend." He couldn't help but add, "Because your face sure isn't helping."

Cody sighed. "How many times do we have to go over this? We have the _same_ face."

"Yeah, but mine isn't always buried behind a book." With that, Zack slipped out of the room, gabbing the hotel key before he left. He headed towards the girls' room, expecting to hear their loud laughter and conversation coming through the door as was to happen when they were all around each other. Instead, as he turned the corner after leaving the elevator, he could hear Riley's and Rhuben's arguing voices.

"I just don't understand why you don't—" Rhuben started.

Riley interrupted her. "You know why," She said, sounding tired more than anything else. "If I say anything, I won't be the only one in trouble."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know."

"And for someone who knows that, with the way you bloody hover over the rest of us, it wouldn't hurt for you to let us help you for once."

"Yeah, well…" Zack could tell Riley agreed with Rhuben's words, could practically picture her shrugging before she added, "Mum and dad told me to look out for you guys."

"I bet they didn't tell you to forget about yourself, though."

"Well, if you've got a better idea than what I've already tried, I'm all ears."

"I don't know… Maybe we could go home."

"I've already fun away longer than I'd like to fucking admit. I don't think running now is going to help much more. I don't know anything that can help unless he does something. And he's smart enough not to."

Zack moved closer to the corner, seeing the twin sisters in mimicking stances arms folded and hips cocked out as they stood across from each other, looking at a loss for words. Then Rhuben nodded. "Just means we have to catch him, yeah?" A playful smile came to her face despite the situation. "His ego's big enough to fall for the trap."

Riley gave a soft smile in response. "You're right, his ego's bigger than the outback. Maybe even a bit more aggro." She shook her head, looking her sister in the eye. "We'll think of something."

At that, Rhuben's eyebrows rose. "You mean you're not going to do this on your own for once?"

"Considering how protective I get of you lot, I don't doubt the rest of you could do more damage than me holding it on my own. Besides…" Riley took a deep breath. "I tried to handle it myself last time and look where we are now."

"Oh, you finally admit it?"

"Shut up." Riley's eyes shifted aside and she spotted Zack on the other end of the hallway. She shifted her eyes back to Rhuben and must've silently warned her, for Rhuben stepped aside, said she was heading toward the vending machine, and left her twin sister. Riley waited for Zack to approach, giving a small smirk-smile when he approached. "Hey," she greeted.

Zack eyed her for a moment, noticing she didn't seem surprised to see him. He pushed the thought away as he responded with a quiet, "hey," himself. He paused, wanting to figure out where to start, figure out the first question he wanted to ask. Instead, he said, "I didn't know your parents said that."

Riley shrugged again. "Don't parents say that to all their children? I reckon your mum and dad asked you to look out for Cody every once in a while, yeah?" She turned, resting her back against the wall so that she could face Zack head on. Her stance was confident, though Zack couldn't help but notice her fingers twitch at her side, reading to move up and rub her arm if needed, to run through her hair to cover the tell-tale expression on her face.

"Yeah, but they stopped after the time they found out I zipped him into a suitcase and left him to be taken by the concierge," Zack said.

He grimaced, still remembering how hard and long their mother yelled at him for endangering his brother over a harmless prank. Cody was simply mad that he'd been left for so long, not truly believing Zack was trying to get rid of him. And it wasn't like he was trying to get rid of Cody, just trying to shut him up a little.

Zack, contrary to outside opinions, would never do anything to purposefully hurt his brother. He'd take down anyone that tried to mess with Cody, stepping over the boundaries of what was a brotherly relationship.

Riley laughed to herself. "Somehow, that's not surprising."

"Yeah, I'm waiting for the day Cody finally gets me back and I wake up in a box on a cargo ship to Africa."

"Is he really capable of doing that?"

"He's not that nice guy that everyone says he is. He's vicious, I tell you!"

"So you've told me."

Zack smiled, then changed the subject back. "Well…I've never knew your parents told you that. You…" he trailed off. "You don't really talk about them."

At that, Riley lifted an eyebrow, her eyes flashing. "They're dead," She said flatly. "What else do you wnt to know?"

Now it was Zack's turn to shrug. "I don't know…what did they do for a living?"

Riley tilted her head, looking him up and down. "My dad was a rocket scientist and my mum was his assistant before they started having us. After that, she was a math teacher."

Zack's eyebrows rose. He hadn't known that. And it explained a lot. How she and her siblings all seemed to hold a sense of perception and intelligence around them without having to say anything. Nd when they did open their mouths, it was proven in the way they spoke. And, of course, Sydney being as smart, if not smarter than Cody, was a good clue, too.

"Wow," he said.

"Yeah, that's the response we usually get when we talk about them." Riley lifted her hand up to scratch her forehead, using her palm to hide her face. Just as Zack knew she would. She noticed him watching her and asked, "What?"

"Is that why you don't want to meet my grandparents?"

The question seemed to come out of left field, judging by the way Riley's head jerked back, but, in Zack's head, it made sense. She didn't talk about her parents, at all. Within the last few years it was the most she'd gotten out of her about them. He wasn't sure he even knew their names now that he thought about it. And due to her parents' death, and then Robert being around her afterward, she didn't take authority very well. It took forever for her to even become comfortable around his own parents despite his mom being a mother figure to almost everyone who came by the Tipton.

Maddie still called his mom on a weekly basis to figure things out that may or may not have been bothering her at the time. Riley, on the other hand, took a while to warm to her and any other older figure around her, seeming to reject it at every turn unless they proved to be worthy.

Riley turned her head to look down the hallway, as if looking for her sister for backup. She gave Zack a critical look out the corner of her eye. "I don't want to meet your grandparents because I know what they'd say about me." Zack lifted an eyebrow. "The same thing everyone else says; that I'm a trouble maker, a bad influence, I look like I'm up to no good, etc. etc."

Zack snorted. "So? I'm sure they say the same thing about me." A few too many groundings and disapproving looks from his Grandma Pearl certainly said so. But it was Grandpa Jim who'd really helped him out. He was hurting from having to move so much and he understood. Grandpa Jim took him on long walks through the woods surrounding Appletown and just let him talk about as much or as little as he wanted.

Was it so bad he wanted to share them with her? No matter how, admittedly, worried he was about it himself? None of his other girlfriends got to meet his family in the same manner. At best, Max was someone who helped his mother learn how to dance and backed her up when she felt outnumbered by her sons. She hadn't grown to be too close to his mom, though his mom always felt fondly of her.

"Yeah, but they're your grandparents," Riley pointed out.

"So? And even, so what if they say that? Do you think I care what people think about me?"

Riley snorted. "I think you care a lot, actually."

That made Zack frown. No, it made him feel like nothing. Less than nothing. Because it truly didn't matter to him what people thought about him. He didn't care if they thought he was jerk. If they thought he was dumb. If they thought he couldn't measure up to Cody. He used to. Not anymore. Not since he'd gotten to know her and asked disarming questions that made him realize how much he let others' opinions of him hurt him. Not until she proved she understood the worries he was going through.

Because he didn't care what anyone else thought of him.

He cared what _she_ thought.

And if she didn't know that…?

Zack lifted his chin, studied Riley's face. Noticed the way she continued to look defiantly at him then bounce her eyes away when the contact became too intense, unnerving. He recognized her habits of trying to avoid a conversation topic, to change the subject, to manipulate a conversation off her. She wanted him to go away.

Well, if that was what she wanted…then why was he still trying?

"Okay," he said slowly, taking a step back from her. "I get the picture." He held up his hands. "You want me to leave you alone, I'll leave you alone."

Worry flashed over Riley's face. She gave him her undivided attention, stood up straighter. At last, she was finally getting it. His tone must've ticked some box in her head. Her eyes bounced over his face, taking in his hardened expression. Something that was very unlike Zack, who goofed off, was silly, made jokes and rolled his eyes to avoid confrontation.

"What does that mean?" Riley asked, her voice turning low, soft. Slightly wobbling, A stark contrast from how she strong she usually was. Zack's heart hurt, watching her demeanor change. He always loved moments like that, where she could be vulnerable with him, but hated to be the reason for it to hurt.

"It means…" Zack licked his lips, finding his mouth suddenly dry. "It means I'll leave you alone. You clearly don't want me around."

"That's not true."

Zack let out a humorless laugh. "You can hardly look at me these past couple of days and when I try to talk to you about what's going on, because there _is_ something going on, you push me away as if you can't stand me." He paused. "You're treating me just like you used to, when we first met." He kept going, unable to keep it in. "The only difference is, I know you don't actually feel that way about me. And, honestly, I think that's worse, because at least when we didn't know each other you probably did hate me."

"I don't hate you." Now Riley's eyes fleshed with anger, her face turning a bright red hue. Zack held his breath. He'd been on the wrong side of her anger many times before and it was as intimidating as ever. This time, however, he saw her eyes start to shine, knowing she was coming close to tears. He couldn't remember the last time she'd cried, let alone the last time he made her cry. "I've _never_ said I hated you."

"But you're treating me like it! One minute you want to be with me and the second you don't. I get you're going through something, but I can't be there to help you if you don't want it. And I can't let you treat me like shit. I can't continuously be there for you, it's not fair."

"To who?"

"To me!" Zack snapped. "It's not fair to me. Riley, I'm trying everything to be there for you to, to help you out. And you're not letting me. It's like I'm just there for you to play with and it's not fair. You already know how I feel about you, but I'm not going to let you treat me like shit because it's easy for you to push me away when you can't handle something."

Riley narrowed her eyes at him, went on the offense. Strike first before she could be struck down. "Then why are you still here, Zack?"

"Because." Zack frowned, a little confused. It wasn't the way he expected the conversation to go.

"Because?"

"Because I'm trying to prove myself to you. _Tried_ to prove myself to you," he blurted. Finally, _finally_ getting out what he'd always wanted to say. Didn't realize he had wanted to say it until the weight was removed from his shoulders. "To you and to your family and…and to your friend and…that's not me."

Now Riley looked confused. She placed her hands on her hips, tilting her head aside so that her hair fell from her face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Zack stretched out his arms then slapped them to his sides. "I know I'm not good enough for you, Riles. _Everyone_ knows that. I don't need the constant reminder. And no matter what I do, I'm not going to be able to prove that I can be a good guy for you. So why do I should try anymore?"

Riley closed her eyes tilted her head back, it emanated a quiet _thump_ as she did so. Silence stretched between them. An unbearable silence that Zack couldn't decipher. Had they broken up? His heart hurt, made him feel like they did. It wasn't what he wanted, but maybe it was the way things had to go. For her to get it.

For her to understand how hard he was trying.

Still, silence.

Zack took another step back from her, unsure of what to do. It was worse than the moments where he was with a girl who was crying. He had absolutely no idea what to do then, panicked, wanted to run as far away as he could. Wanted to turn his back and act as if he had no idea what'd just happened. Anyone tearing up made him uncomfortable, lots of emotion did that to him.

Probably because he'd hidden his emotions and what he truly felt for a long time.

Riley was the same way; despite how often she showed her anger and wasn't one to hide what she truly felt about someone or something, that part of her life was still controlled, in a way, by Robert's presence.

Finally, Riley pushed herself off the way and stepped toward Zack, resting her hands on his shoulders then moved to frame his jaw and neck. Forced him to look at her. "Zack, you don't ever have to prove yourself to me."

"Really?" His voice was as quiet as hers was, unable to believe what he was being told. What he'd always wanted to be told.

"No," Riley insisted.

"No?"

"No. Because I'm not going to leave you, not…" Riley dropped her gaze, but didn't drop her hands. "Not when you can easily leave me."

Zack's eyebrows furrowed together. "What?"

"I don't think you're going to cheat on me," Riley continued, gently pressing her fingers into his skin. She looked him in the eye. "I'll admit when we first started going out, the thought crossed my mind, but I don't think you would. I just…" She closed her eyes and looked away for a moment. The right side of her face screwed up in thought before she turned back to him. "I just hate that other girls want you. I hate the way they look at you and flirt with you because I know there's a chance that it'll just make you see that I'm not good enough for you."

Zack's jaw dropped at that. He couldn't help it. "You think _you're_ not good enough for _me_?"

Riley shrugged.

"So, if we don't think we're good enough for each other, then who should we be with?" The question came out like a joke, but he truly was a bit confused. And shell-shocked from the revelation. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't do single very well."

Riley laughed quietly. Instead, she lobbed back with a question of her own. "If we don't think we're good enough for each other, then why are we trying?"

"Because we have a lot of things in common," Zack said, after thinking for a minute. "Weeee," he stretched the word, waiting for something to come to mind, "both like sports, we both like music, we both like messing with Cody, we both like making out, which is a very key thing in our compatibility, ,I think. And we think each other is _way_ out of our league, and it's probably true."

"So?" Riley prompted.

"So," Zack replied. He paused. "So, I don't know…did we break up or…?"

"I hope not."

"Me too."

Another pause as the two looked at each other. Zack filled it, he had to know the answer. Had to know or else there wouldn't be anything that would keep them going.

"Ley," he said slowly. "Why are you so afraid of Ian?"

"I'm not scared," Riley said quickly. Zack started to insist, but Riley cut him off, looking at him seriously and admitted for the first time, "I'm terrified."

Zack looked back at her, nodded, pressed a kiss to the side of her head, and pulled her to his chest in a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his chest as he stroked her hair.

No, he wasn't jealous of Ian.

He was pissed.

* * *

 **A/N:** Huh, thinking about restarting this story/re-writing it. Mostly, for me, in the case that I dislike bringing in so many characters who, at the beginning of my plans, have parts to play, but then slowly dwindle away to not being needed as much when the story goes on. As it is, because there's always so many people I don't get the chance to show Riley's relationship with her family (namely her brothers) as easily as I used to when it's in a fantasy realm of a story as with the fast pace it's easy to bounce from POV when needed to add to the story.

However, as I've come to realize that the main focus of the story truly is on Zack and Riley and how they navigate this, it does make sense all the while. Oh well, I hope you guys are still enjoying it as much as I am when writing it.

I'll update again soon.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	14. You Make Me Happy

**Chapter Fourteen:** You Make Me Happy

* * *

"How'd you meet this guy anyway?" Zack asked. He pushed up the sleeves of his sweatshirt and folded his arms over his chest. He stretched out his legs to fit the couch—suddenly missing when he was short and didn't hang over the end of everything. As it was, he envied Riley's ability to curl up in the corner of the couch and not take up too much space.

He stuck his feet into her sides and wiggled his toes to tickle her, making her jerk away and swat at his feet. Then Riley's face screwed up and she frowned toward him. "Your feet smell aggro, dude," She commented. "Do you ever wash them?"

Zack blinked. "You're supposed to wash your feet?" He pressed his lips together, tried to hold back his smile at the comically horrified expression she made.

"Why wouldn't you wash your feet? In the shower, in the bath. Even in the bloody sink if you needed it."

"Duh, because when you're taking a shower, the water already runs over it."

"But it's not _cleaning_ it." She ripped a pillow off the couch and smacked him with it. Zack laughed, grabbing it from her hand and smacked her back. She took it and hugged it to her chest, her smile fading only slightly. "God, you're so disgusting."

"Then why do you like me?" He lobbed back.

"I've been trying to figure that out for years, honestly."

"Ha ha." He folded his arms once more, sticking his hands into his armpits. "You didn't answer my question," he pointed out.

Riley's eyebrows twitched upwards. She thought for a moment then tilted her head to the side, resting her cheek against the top of the couch. Her eyes shifted aside, taking in the lounge. Zack wasn't quite sure what she thought she'd see differently, it was the same as the lounge in the Boston Tipton. But maybe that was the point, that it was comforting in some way.

It certainly was to him. As he looked around the room, even the hotel room they were in, he had to remind himself that Mr. Moseby wasn't going to swing around the corner, demanding them to go to sleep. That Esteban wasn't going to scurry by with a trolley cart filled with luggage that threatened to tip over as he enthusiastically tried to get it to the rooms. That his mom wasn't in the ballroom practicing for a show that night. He knew all that, but still strained to hear the high notes of his mother's voice.

"The same place you meet anyone our age, I reckon," Riley finally explained. "At school." She leveled her gaze to Zack, voice growing flat. Zack watched her reach up to scratch her forehead before she dropped her hands to her lap, picking at her fingers. She shrugged. "He was new."

Zack felt his cheeks redden suddenly.

He completely understood.

There was always something interesting about new students in school. Not just because they were new by design, but because they were around everyone else for so long. However, it wasn't that hat made Zack blush. It was that he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of being the new kid and never reacted to it well. Before he was really interested in girls, he hated the attention. Hated having to introduce himself, hated having to go through the whole "what's it like being a twin," spiel that happened every time, hated having to be interrogated before being completely ignored later.

Then, when he _was_ interested in girls and he was the new student, he hated how he had their attention for all a few days and then was ignored like all the other guys. Not that it mattered too much, he was usually gone again within the next few weeks, off to the new city for his mom's next gig.

"So…" Zack swallowed hard, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer to his next question. "What did you like about him?"

"The attention he gave me."

Her quick, blunt response made Zack blink in surprise. That wasn't something he'd expected of her. She seemed too…put together for that. Then again, everyone put their best foot forward. How long had she come to school with cuts and bruises and a mask that she refused to crack before he found out the truth of what was going on at home?

Too long.

"Don't get me wrong, I reckon he was cute, but…I wasn't in a great place back then, yeah? Things were aggro at home, of course. I was being yelled at and beaten all the time, and then I had someone who actually paid me some attention. Positive attention, I mean. I would've liked anyone who did." She paused. "I made that mistake a lot."

"But he kept your attention?"

Zack thought about how he would've been in that situation. Then realized, with a start, he had been. When he was dating Sadie. A big part of him knew she was bad news, especially considering how she was suddenly interested in him after he got thinner. But…it was still attention. _Positive_ attention. A girl who was all over him and wanted nothing but to hang out and makeout and laugh and have a good time? What guy didn't want that?

And she wanted _him_. Not any other guy who was probably more in her league, but him. Didn't think of him as an annoyance, didn't think he was stupid, didn't act like he was his player reputation. Just wanted him.

And who, in life, didn't want someone who accepted every part of them? Each and every part that most of the world didn't see?

"Because we were in the same class, it was easy to hang out with each other. He always knew the right things to say. Still does, unfortunately." Her upper lip curled briefly, something flashing through her eyes. "And he was charming. Could wrap anyone around his finger and get away with anything."

"Man of the Year," Zack murmured.

"Tell his girlfriend that." Riley rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she'd agree with you but not understand why."

Zack stiffened at her words. He blinked rapidly, feeling every muscle from his toes to his head become taught. He flexed his fingers. "He has a girlfriend?"

"Rachel." Riley nodded. "They've been together basically since he started at my school. I'm surprised he hasn't proposed to her yet, honestly." Zack started to say something else, finding himself at a loss for words. "Did I not mention that part? The best part of the whole story?" She let out a humorless laugh. "The bloody idiot was leading me on the whole time making me feel that he was going to break up with his girlfriend to be with me." She shrugged. "Guess I deserved it anyway, if he was able to trick me into it." She lowered her voice. "I was stupid."

Zack's eyes flashed. "Did he call you stupid?"

"He didn't have to."

"Then I guess we're both a bunch of idiots,"

"Uh, no." Riley pointed at him. "She was using you for sex. That was a completely different thing."

"How I know you're not using me for the same thing?" Zack gestured to himself. Made a show of patting his invisible pockets. "I'm not made of any money, I think we all know that."

Riley snorted but teased, "Yeah, and your looks certainly aren't going to hold up." Zack's smile faded, feeling a sting in his chest. In his heart, if he were being more honest. Thankfully, and what he liked most about her, Riley quickly noticed and sat up, grabbing his hand. "Sorry, mate, I was joking."

"It's okay."

"It's not." She searched his face, looking for any other sign of displeasure in him. Zack masked it with a charming smile, running a hand through his hair as he said, "You're wrong, anyway. Have you seen my parents? It's almost impossible for our looks to fade. It's probably one of the best things to come from their relationship."

As long as that lasted.

"You know you're not your parents, right?" Riley's voice startled him from his thoughts. "You put a lot of pressure of what happened with their relationship on yourself, yeah?" She continued to rub his hand, making goosebumps jump up and down his arm.

"Really?" Zack's voice turned sarcastic. "Have you been talking to Cody again? Is he trying to stage another intervention?" He wiggled his fingers as if in fanfare. "Try to give me some more informational pamphlets? Ooh, some party." His eyes widened. "We should do that."

"What?" Riley lifted her head.

"We should throw a party," Zack said. He noticed the skeptical expression on Riley's face and continued. "Okay, okay, I know what happened last time, but it's almost the end of the year, we're all going to be leaving soon, some sooner than later,"—he tried not to think about that—"and we need to have _something_ to remember before it happens."

"And where do you plan on having this party? The Tipton?" Riley snorted, gently wedging her fingers between his. "I think you'll put Moseby in an early grave if you do that."

"Yeah, I've thought about that before," Zack rubbed his chin. "I want to mess with him, but I don't want to give him a heart attack."

"You're such a gentleman."

"Thank you." Zack quickly took the comment he knew to be a joke, and kept going, making Riley laugh. "The Tipton _would_ be the best placed, because it's so big, but my dad's place would probably be better. He's not around as much."

"And how many times can you get a parent-free party?" Riley agreed. She nodded slowly. "I can see that," She said. Then she lifted a finger. "But would he let you do it?" Zack pursed his lips. "Mate, you know your dad has been more careful about leaving you and Cody alone in his place since that time you took your girlfriends there."

"Was that when he was still doing that Viking show?" Zack asked.

He somewhat remembered that. Didn't remember much more of the day other than the excitement of being able to spend some time with his girlfriend of the week in an empty apartment, where anything could happen. And then remembered the utmost embarrassment of his father busting in on the game of Spin the Bottle.

And having had kissed Barbara.

Okay, now he remembered that day. Cody hadn't spoken to him for almost two weeks for having accidentally kissed Barbara. But it wasn't like Zack had done it on purpose. He never would've done that to his brother. Let alone with Barbara Brownstein. They had a mutual dislike of each other, nothing was going to happen there even if Zack did know it was Barbara waiting on the couch for him.

"You know you remember," Riley prompted.

"Ehh, I remember all the times of being there with _you_ ," Zack replied, making Riley grin. He tapped her chin upward, making her bat his hand aside. "That makes me happy."

" _You_ make me happy," Riley replied. "You drive my absolutely fucking crazy. But you make me happy."

Zack started to smile, feeling his face heat up, then he stared. He heard everything she said. But couldn't stop staring. Because, somehow, she managed to change the subject completely off herself and her plight with Ian to him, and things he didn't like to talk about very often. All with him falling in step with it with no little thought.

"How'd you do that?" He asked.

Riley's lips pulled back into a smirk, clearly enjoying she was able to distract him so easily. "A lot of practice."

"But why don't you—"

He was cut off when Riley grasped his wrist, pulled him forward, framed his face with her hands, and pressed her lips against his in a sweet kiss. A happy kiss. He hadn't seen her so happy since Ian had arrived. It was a good change. Finally, _finally_ they were on the same page, and things were getting back on track. He felt the knot in his stomach that seemed to tighten as the days passed since Ian's arrival loosen.

The same knot that'd tightened when desperate thoughts of being the best on the basketball team threw him further and further into his eating disorder, never once really thinking he had a problem until he had his heart attack.

Zack leaned into the kiss, prompting Riley to lean back, giving him the opportunity to lay across her.

Whatever, they could talk about it later. He wasn't about to ruin the mood when he didn't have to.

* * *

 **A/N:** I needed some good/happy moments with Zack and Riley as much as they needed it. And, especially after the conversation they had in the last chapter, it seemed like a good place to put it. There are some darker points in a few lines here or there (kind of comes with the territory of Riley's personality and the background I think Zack and Cody would have) but it was still good.

I'll update again soon.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	15. He Had A Plan

**Chapter Fifteen:** He Had A Plan

* * *

Ian twisted his mouth to the side, tapping his phone against his lips. His eyes shifted back and forth across the hotel room, looking at nothing. Then his gaze flittered to the view outside the window, taking in the New York skyline. He pushed himself from his seat and went to the window, looking outside, pressing his fingers against the glass.

He curled his fingers into a fist, gritting his teeth at the same time. Pain throbbed in the back of his jaw, where the hinges met together. A pain that was a mere inconvenience more than it being actually painful. Just like Zack was to him. A minor inconvenience.

A bloody irritating one if he were being quite honest. It was too easy for him to do what he wanted to Zack. Incredibly easy to get him out of the picture if he wanted to. Just had to say the right things, get that tiny bit of doubt into him and watch it all implode. That little kernel of truth, of mentioning a tiny moment of being arrested was the easiest one to go with, Ian surmised.

He clenched his fist even harder, feeling the handle of the foozeball table in his hand. Could still imagine the shocked look that passed over Zack's face before he was able to mask it with nonchalance. An actor, he wasn't. Zack wore his heart on his sleeve, something Ian counted on and was glad to know was true. Not that it mattered much anyway, the moment Ian made it to Boston and started hearing whisperings of a "Zack Martin" almost everywhere he went, it didn't take much to put two and two together to know it was the guy that Riley was seeing.

Despite being blocked off her social media pages, he had many ways to get around it. The security measures on most sites were some of the laxest measures he'd seen and without much computer knowledge, it was still easy to crack. "Be careful what you post online," his mother always said. It was why he didn't put much on his own profiles other than what was important to any potential employers and college recruiters.

Not that he hadn't already known who Zack was, he made it a point to know the people Riley was hanging out with when he was gone. Ian wasn't lying about everything he'd said about Zack, how he was pathetic, stupid…his grades weren't difficult to determine; Cody was on every honor roll list in existence and as Zack's name wasn't mentioned, he could only assume he didn't do as well in school. But the fact that Zack was named in many posts and newspaper articles for the game winning baskets and goals he'd managed to score was interesting enough to prove Riley had a type.

But it was when Ian found the articles of his eating disorder—Zack hadn't been named because of being a minor, however there was enough clues to figure it out. So that was his Achilles heel, he was as insecure as a teenage girl who hadn't had her first boyfriend yet. It was a piece of information that'd certainly come in handy more than once, irritating both Riley and Zack.

He'd expected to come to Boston, visit some colleges and work things to his advantage all along the way. But Zack was a more resilient than Ian gave credit for. Which meant he had to adjust his ideas moving forward a little bit. It didn't seem that Riley would leave him so easily, either, no matter how torn she was over everything.

Ian turned from the window, brushing his hair back from his face, a pleasant expression immediately replacing his irritated one.

It was a simple set back anyway.

No matter what was thrown his way, he'd succeed. He had a plan.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, that arc is now done and with the next chapter things will really be ramping up! I hope you guys are ready for it!

I'll update again soon.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	16. Affected

**Chapter Sixteen:** Affected

* * *

"So, you think you'll ever be able to go there?"

"To NYU?"

"No, to Mars."

Riley moved her mug closer to her, allowing the steam of her hot chocolate to warm her face, but fog up the lenses of her glasses. She pushed it away then used the bottom of her shirt to remove the fog, squinting at Zack as he let out a low breath, and gently shook his head. "Don't look at me like that."

"Can you even see me?"

"I don't need to see to be able to know when you're making that face." She put her glasses back on, watching as Zack blinked rapidly.

"What face?" He grumbled then yawned loudly. He stared down at the plate in front of him, at the stack of pancakes with a dollop of whipped cream on the top, bacon that sat just to the side, and a separate plate for eggs and sausage. His eyes dipped over it before moving back to her face.

"That rabbit face."

"What 'rabbit face'."

She replaced her glasses and smirked at him. "That face you make when someone is able to get the best of you at something." Her eyebrows twitched upwards at the same time she picked up the salt shaker and doused her own food in it. "You make it a lot. Usually when I'm around."

"Ha. You wish."

"How many times have I beaten you at video games?"

"Never. I let you win."

" _You_ wish."

Riley smiled as Zack chuckled, picking up his fork to cut a piece of his pancakes, bringing it to his mouth before yawning once more. He didn't have to stay with her, didn't have to stay up so long, but he'd gently insisted. She wasn't quite sure if it was because he was so worried of the thought of Ian breaking into the hotel room so late at night and doing…something. Zack wouldn't have been too far off, it would've been something Ian would do.

Had he not made the mistake of showing his hand so early before, that's exactly what he would've done, Riley knew. But something about the trip to NYU, something about the different location had thrown him. Or, Riley worried, he was doing something she'd never be able to expect from him. That was the worst part of it all, that she wasn't quite sure what to expect from him, when she could typically read people so well.

When Robert was still around, she could see when his demeanor changed, even with the slightest twitch of his mouth, and eyebrows. Maybe, in some ways, she'd taken that from him. An interesting play of nature vs. nurture that she didn't even want to entertain. Because what did that mean about her? What did she get from her parents, who were so long gone that she couldn't even remember their faces half the time, and what did she get from the man that made her life a living hell from the moment he met her and her family?

Riley slid down in her seat, studying Zack closely. What did he get from his parents? He certainly got the fun-loving, adventurous side from his father. Anyone could see it in the way his eyes sparkled when a no less than mischievous twinkle came to his eye. Could see it in the way his lips pulled back in a knowing grin when he was poking fun at other people. She could even see it when he ran a hand through his hair and clenched his jaw in exasperation.

But then she easily saw his mother as well; could see it in his blonde hair that he twirled around his finger when he was deep in thought or even simply bored. Could see it in his blue eyes when he scanned the faces of everyone that passed him, wondering if his reputation was going to precede him with everyone he came across—Carey had mentioned a few times the dirty looks and comments she'd receive when it was made known she was a single mother, let alone a young looking one, pregnant with twins and even worse later when the twins were born. Could see it in some of the exasperated expressions he made when someone said something stupid, or when he was simply done with something. Could see it in the way Zack fiercely protected Cody whenever anyone tried to say something bad, something taken from Carey who had to stand up for herself in many avenues in her life.

Riley watched as Zack continued to take tiny bites in between his yawns, feeling a burst of appreciation for him. After they'd stopped making out—Zack had made a joking comment about how his jaw was starting to get tired and he'd never experienced before—they stayed up the rest of the night still talking. About anything and everything. She knew part of it was that he didn't want to give the chance of anything happening, had the same thought in the back of her mind.

How many times would Ian resort to just following them around before…doing something else. Anything else she knew he could do. Had experienced what he could do. That was the point of getting the police involved, of doing what she was 'supposed to do' to get him to leave her alone. And still, nothing.

There were too many times she had to deal with the stupid questions that made her regret seeking help in the first place.

"Did you lead him on?"

"Are you sure you didn't just make a mistake?"

"Is he really _that_ bad?"

"Are you sure you're not overreacting?"

The last question was the one that nearly had her detained for the night. Riley found herself up and out of her chair, leaning over to grab the front of the officer she was speaking to before being forced back into her seat, practically foaming at the mouth. If there was ever a time she'd be arrested for assault, that certainly would've been one of the times.

Riley rested her chin in her hands, her knees starting to bob up and down. She didn't realize she was doing it until Zack made a show of reaching out his hands to place them on the sides of the table. It stopped jiggling but Riley continued bouncing her knees. Finally, he dropped his hand beneath the table and grasped her knee.

"If you know my plate off the table, you're paying for a new one," he mumbled, rubbing at his eye.

Riley rolled her eyes. "I thought I already was paying."

"No, I'm being nice to you and handling it myself. I'm being a gentleman. Don't make me change my mind."

Riley's eyebrows hitched upwards and she gently kicked her leg out, striking him directly in the shin. Zack barely flinched in response, used to it at that point. Riley felt a sudden sense of shame, watching Zack as he removed his hand from her knee and went back to his pancakes, sighing slightly as he cut another, this time smaller, piece from the stack.

How many times had she made fun of him? Verbally and physically pushed him away? Kept him at an arm's length all because she was so worried of the consequences of what would happen if she truly did let him in? They'd wasted about three years of…who knows what, because of it. Because of that fear. And yet, he continued to be there.

Not _there_ -there, not waiting for her. He'd had plenty of other girlfriends between the time they met, their very ill-fated first date (if they could call it that, Zack continued to deny it ever happened), and when she finally admitted out loud that she did and always had liked him. And that was okay. She wanted him to have other people he was interested in, not wanting to have him tied to her. She appreciated him more for it, probably liked him because of that.

There were other things, of course; both superficial and not so superficial, but a lot of it hinged on the fact that he could take care of himself and wouldn't let other people walk all over him. Even when they had the best means to do so. Because it was the side of him that he let her see, just as she did for him.

"You should probably get to sleep," Riley said, noticing him yawn once more.

Zack lifted his chin and gave her a funny look. Then he leaned back in his seat, a smug smile coming to his face. "Please. I've got many years of game nights and Red Bull binges under my belt to handle this." He tilted his head, rubbing at his eye. "I'm not as tired."

"Must be not staring at a computer screen cross eyed all night?"

"Nah, that's just not having to deal with Cody constantly nagging me to sleep." Zack sat up straight, tapping the back of his fork on his plate. The _clink, clink, clink_ breaking the quiet of the restaurant. People at a few tables nearby turned to glanced at them, looking for the source of the noise, but he ignored them. "So, what are we going to do?"

Riley noticed his use of the word 'we', perked up a little. "About Ian?"

"No, about the bill," Zack joked. He nodded as the waitress came over and dropped the check in the middle of the table. Neither of them moved to take it. "I mean, I said I'd pay for it, buuut," he pushed it toward her. "You were the one who kept me up all night."

"Careful, mate." Once more, Riley reached out and gently tapped the tip of her shoe into Zack's knee. He responded by knocking his knee against hers. "You don't want to let anyone get the wrong idea." She stuck her finger in the air, spinning it in a circle. "He's got eyes everywhere." She was partially joking, but wouldn't put it past him. If defying him a little made him grab her as he'd done—something that he almost never got far enough to do when they were younger—she couldn't imagine what lengths Ian would go to if there was anything that could even potentially piss him off more than life itself.

"I'm serious. What are we going to do?" He thought for a moment, eyebrows coming together. "You said going to the police didn't work…."

"Unfortunately, in cases like this, the police usually only do something when it's too late." Riley didn't miss the bitter edge that came to her tone of voice. She scowled, hating how easily even the thought of him made her demeanor change. When, just a few weeks ago, she was happy. Now she was scared, trapped, paranoid as she'd been when Robert was still around.

It must've been some cosmic karma coming back to kick her ass. _I'm sure I deserve it,_ she thought.

"You don't deserve this," Zack suddenly said, as if reading her mind. Riley glanced around, wondering if there was a sign over her head that flashed everything she was thinking. Or, maybe, he knew her much better than she thought. "That's the same thing you said to me, when everything happened with Sadie. So I'm saying it to you…so you don't forget."

Riley shook her head. Loved the sentiment. Hated that he didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation. "She tried to ruin your life, I think he's going to…" she trailed off, unable to say it out loud. What was so different than saying it like she had when Robert was around. 'He's going to kill me'. Maybe because with Robert, he was visibly stronger, bigger, probably could do it with ease, while, to everyone else, Ian looked like a normal guy, a charming guy who would sway anyone with a smile. "I don't want it to get to that point," she said, hands starting to shake.

"Me either."

Silence stretched between them. Zack continued to gently shift his knee back and forth, brushing against hers. A reminder that he was there. That he wasn't going anywhere no matter what was slowly ripping them apart; college and the distance that would be between them when she went home, and he did…whatever it was he was going to do. Their own insecurities. Their own pasts that seemed to get in the way of moving forward.

No matter what, they were going to think of something.

They were in it together.

"Do you want to go?" He finally asked.

Riley blinked in surprise, not noticing that he'd even paid for the food let alone had managed to have it pay for and get it back to leave a tip. Was she really that out of it? Was Ian affecting her so much that she didn't notice what else was going on around her? That she couldn't sense what was going on around her when it used to be like a sixth sense?

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "Let's go."

That was something that Riley hadn't anticipated when telling Zack the truth. She thought it would be freeing, relieve some sort of weight off her shoulders, off the two of them. She hadn't realized how unhappy she'd been without being able to tell Zack the truth despite how much she'd been trying to protect him. Something, she'd grown used to.

But, in that moment, she realized how much keeping things quiet hadn't helped.

Because she saw Zack's plate as he grasped her hand on the way out of the hotel's restaurant. Saw that he'd done a great job of making it look like he'd eaten any of his food, but had actually mushed it around his plate, swirling it so that it looked like he'd eaten any of it.

That son of a bitch.

He was going to make Zack relapse if they didn't figure things out soon.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hate whenever I get back to this story, the chapters seem to get shorter. It doesn't help that things tend to fall by the wayside when it's peak season at work and people keep calling out/switching shifts. But, as it is, it's given me some time to step back and reflect on this story and figure out what I really want to do with it…even though I had the idea off a one-off dream and it purely is a story I'm writing for myself.

I'm a little frustrated by this chapter since I've tried writing it and re-writing it about five times and it's still not perfect, but…it does still help push things forward. Oh well, I'm my own worst critic.

I'll update again soon.

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	17. Family Ties

**Chapter Seventeen:** Family Ties

* * *

"Zack…Zack, wake up."

Zack grumbled, turning onto his side, pressed his face into his pillows. He grasped his blankets and pulled it up higher over his head. Anything to block out the light, to keep the nagging voice from reaching his ears when he was just getting got the good part of is dream. Where that fifty million dollar lottery check was seconds away from being placed in his hands with his adoring audience clapping for him.

"Zack! Don't make me ask you again."

With a sigh, Zack lowered the blankets from his head and squinted up at his mother, who stood over his bed, holding her robe together with one hand, the other poised to shake him awake or tear him out of bed, whichever came first. Nevertheless, he didn't particularly like the intense frown on her face as she stood over him.

"I know it's early, mom, but don't you think you should put your face on before you scare people like that?" He asked in a low mumble.

"Believe me, Zack, if I _wanted_ to be up this early, I would've had more kids," Carey remarked. "You and Cody kept me up at all hours of the night, it was all I could do to keep from putting whisky on your gums or giving you Benadryl to keep you asleep for more than an hour." Zack's eyes squinted even further. He watched her for a moment then rolled over the other way, letting out a long breath so that he could go back to sleep. "Zack, you need to get up."

"Why? It's Spring Break. I can sleep in if I want. I'm sure there are laws against you waking me up this early."

"Believe me, Zack, if I was going to be arrested for anything, it would've been for killing your father years ago when he thought keeping our babies was a good idea." Carey said sarcastically. She reached out and grasped his shoulder. "Besides, it's not for me, your grandfather is taking you out."

"He's what?"

"Weren't you supposed to be going out today? He said something about the both of you going fishing?"

On a regular day, Zack loved to go fishing. But Spring Break wasn't a regular day. And as far as he was concerned, his life hadn't been regular since Ian came to town. He couldn't think of anything else, of when he was finally going to go away and what they were going to do about him until then. But having to spend a full day with his grandfather and Cody fishing was the last thing he wanted to do. Especially if he was going to be stuck in a boat with Cody rambling off everything he knew about the fish they'd catch until all Zack wanted to do was smack him across the face with said fish.

"I don't feel too good. Tell Cody and Grandpa Jim I'll see them later. And that I can't wait to eat whatever they catch."

"Grandpa Jim didn't ask for Cody to go with him, sweetie, he just wants you." Zack's eyes popped open at that. His heart raced. Brain moved just as quickly, wondering what it was that he'd done and how he could convince his grandfather it wasn't him that'd done…whatever it was that he hadn't done. "And you better get going, you know how he doesn't like to wait too long."

Yeah, he knew that for sure. Zack quickly pushed back his covers and quickly ran through the clothes sitting on his floor to find something presentable to wear while his mother left the room, quietly closing the door behind him so that it wouldn't wake Cody from his peaceful slumber.

Zack continued to sift through the clothes on the floor, looking for anything he'd remembered to clean. When was the last time he did laundry? Three weeks ago? Maybe? So long as it didn't have any obvious stains, or at least smelled clean enough that it wouldn't leave his grandfather reeling. Last thing he needed was a lecture for one of the more…strong willed men in his life.

Let alone make him late.

Zack finished getting dressed, grabbed his phone, wallet, and card key to the suite, and slipped out the room. He went into the main area of the suite, glaring at his mom who had curled back up into her bed on the couch, muttering something about, "Mr. Clooney," as she slept.

 _I'm going to get her for this,_ Zack thought, rubbing his chin as he went. He went to the front door and opened it, finding his grandfather standing just outside the door, dressed in a sweatshirt, jeans, and a beanie pulled low over his head and ears. He looked up from his own phone, turning his steely brown eyes toward Zack.

"You ready to go?" He asked gruffly.

Zack nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Grandpa Jim looked him up and down. "You're not going out in that are you?" The almost stern expression on his face gave way to an amused smile. "I get you kids are going for that look where you don't wear much, but it's still Boston, and it's still Spring. You're going to freeze in that tiny t-shirt."

"I'll be fine, grandpa," Zack replied. "It'll warm up soon. Besides, I got used to the cold." He closed the door to the suite behind him. "I've lived here long enough to learn how things work. And, you know Cody. He doesn't go a day without having some sort of scientific, geeky thing to tell me about the weather. I blocked him out but must've remembered something."

Grandpa Jim chuckled as the two headed toward the elevator. "You really love torturing that boy don't' you?"

"You've listened to him talk, right? And it's not torture; it's getting him to shut up after him going on for…well, as long as we've been alive. Something through all that time must've imprinted on my brain no matter how hard I try to ignore him."

"Whatever you say."

Zack smiled a little and followed his grandfather down to the lobby of the hotel. It was always a little weird to see how quiet the hotel was in the early mornings and so late at night. Mr. Moseby was just arriving at work, opening the registers at the front counter as the day started. He glared at Zack over the top of his mug, eyeing him as he and his grandfather left the suite.

They went to his grandfather's rental car and climbed inside. Grandpa Jim was silent the whole way to the spot he'd chosen for them to go fishing. Zack continued to glance at him as the seconds stretched into minutes, stretched into an hour. But his grandfather continued to sit quietly in the driver's seat. He never looked back at Zack, and that worried him more than anything.

Zack had seen the way Grandpa Jim had treated Kurt over the years, in a hands off, arms-length way due to hurting Carey, his youngest daughter. Due to saddling her with twin boys that neither could take care of by themselves as she struggled as a singer and he worked hard to make it as a rock star. Reacted to him coldly and unfavorably. Zack never thought he'd be on the other end of that treatment.

Sure, he'd gotten the cold shoulder and armful remarks from girls he'd hurt, and from his own brother when using him one too many times for his own schemes. The most hurtful had been when Max ahd rightfully told him off after one of the times he hadn't been a good boyfriend to her. But it was different when it was his grandfather.

The man was someone whom Zack really looked up to. When they lived in Seattle with them, Zack followed his grandfather everywhere, trying to mimic everything his grandfather did. Zack remembered the many days he'd pretend to read the newspaper at breakfast, pretend the orange juice in his ug was coffee, and watched to see what his grandfather did before doing the same. Take a sip of his 'coffee', take a bite of his toast, flip a page on the newspaper, then do it all over again.

He remembered days of standing next to his grandfather, watching as he did maintenance work on his car that sat in the driveway, handing him tools whenever he asked for one—though was never sure if he had the correct tool—and leaned closer to watch whatever it was he was doing that'd fix whatever was wrong. And his grandfather would let him, always giving him that familiar smile that made his eyes crinkle in the corner and sparkle as if he'd just been told the best joke in the world.

Now he sat stoically in the driver's seat, making Zack sweat as even more as the seconds passed. Finally, they made it to the fishing hole, gathered their things from the trunk, and went to a spot. Grandpa Jim set up a picnic chair and his pole, baiting a hook and sending his line out into the water long before Zack managed to bait his own line and cast it.

When his grandfather finally spoke, Zack nearly jumped at the sound of his voice breaking the silence.

"You're not the same boy I remember."

Zack's eyebrows rose, but he didn't move, didn't tear his gaze away from looking at the water. Instead, he shifted his feet, digging his heels into the dampened Earth and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I remember a little boy who had all the energy in the world. Who would practically torture his brother with said energy—"

"—I still do." Zack grinned to himself.

"Do you still jump on his head every morning?"

"No, I stopped doing that after I started to outweigh him." He paused for a moment. "Well, I've always outweighed him. I used to steal his food even when we were in the womb." He shook his head. "It really explains his allergies to almost everything and his weak body."

Grandpa Jim chuckled to himself. He shifted in his seat, stretching out his legs before him. A sigh escaped his lips. He tightened his grasp on his fishing pole, watching as it quietly bobbed up in the small waves that blew over the water's edge. He pressed his lips together, gently shook his head.

Zack watched the movement, suddenly wondering what he'd done wrong. What he said that was wrong. Displeasure radiated off his body in waves. Or maybe it was his own displeasure, his own paranoia. He'd grown so used to disappointing people that it wasn't hard to figure out when he'd taken things one step too far and crossed the line into disappointing someone else. It was a sixth sense in a way; noticing the tensing of the shoulders, the slackening of the face, the heaving, sigh that seemed to roll from their head to their feet.

Even when sitting down, he could see his grandfather's demeanor change, as if dropped on a dime. Gone was the family man who wanted to do everything he could to protect his daughter and grandchildren, and in its place was the man who wanted to have a real conversation. One that would be difficult for either of them, and Zack was sure it was going to be him.

"Zack, I know life can be hard, but that doesn't mean you have to lose your spark."

"I haven't lost anything, grandpa. I'm still the same guy I've always been."

Grandpa Jim shook his head. He slouched further down, crossing his leg at the knee. "You were the one who was up at the crack of dawn, running around your aunt's farm when we would all visit in Appletown. You chased the roosters and hens around, making them squawk and caw as they raced around, waking everyone up. You liked to help out with the farm chores, spilling water everywhere when you tried to fill the water trough. And even when you were staying with your grandma and me, you were the first one awake, watching TV with wide eyes, not wanting to miss any of the cartoons that showed at that god awful hour. And even after that, you were one of the happiest and liveliest boys I've met." Grandpa Jim's mouth tightened. "Then, somewhere along the way, you started to grow up and change."

"I was going to be into girls at some point," Zack said with a smile.

"I'm not talking about girls, Zack, I'm talking about you."

At that, Zack turned his full attention to his grandfather. He shoved the handle of his fishing pole into the sand, far enough that it would support itself, but shallow enough that he could pull it out if needed. He twisted his mouth to the side, ducked his head, then lifted it to look his grandfather in the eye.

"'You heard?" he asked. "About everything? About my eating disorder? About…all of that?"

Grandpa Jim nodded. "Your mother and I talked about it." Zack rolled his eyes. "She was worried about you, son. And so am I. I'm not going to sit here and lie and say I understand all of it, because I don't. I don't get what makes it so that anyone would get to that point, but I know you, Zack. I've watched you since you were a baby and I like to think we have a special relationship, but you're starting to become someone I don't know. And it's not just teenage things. Teenage things I can understand."

"What else is there to understand, grandpa?" Zack started to count off on his fingers. "My parents are divorced, my brother is better than me at everything, people think the worst of me when they meet me, and everything I've ever thought I was good at has been blowing up in my face. My brother and my best friend, who are the biggest nerds on the face of the planet, are better than me at the sport I love, and no matter what I do in school, I can't get grades any better than a C." He shrugged. "What do you want me to say? I'm not so good at life and life's not so happy with me."

"The only thing I can see that's wrong is the way you're reacting to everything."

"How am I reacting to it?"

"Like a child."

He said it so bluntly that it made Zack blink in surprise.

Grandpa Jim shook his head. "Again, I'm not your therapist…don't even really see the need for those, honestly. So I can't even say for sure I know what I'm talking about, but the way you're reacting to everything, whining and acting like things should be handed to you without putting in the hard work is much like a child would do, looking for the easy way out. You're better than that, Zack." Grandpa Jim cleared his throat. "Now, if you want me to talk about what's going on with you and your friend, at least you're being real there. I saw it when she came to pick you up. You act like you're putting on a sho wiwth everyone around you, but you're real with her. Whatever it is that's going on with her, I admire that you're working hard to be there. But—"

"—But I can't force her to talk to me about it," Zack interrupted. "And I can't fix everything. I need her to come to me. I know, I've already heard it."

"I was going to say you can't get caught up in things like that," Grandpa Jim replied. "Your mother got caught up in trying to change your father and we all see how that turned out." Zack's eyebrows furrowed. Did his grandfather mean it was more than an accident that he and Cody were there? That they never should've been born? "The conditions you were raised in weren't what babies should've been raised in and it could have been avoided."

"And, maybe, I might not have been born."

Grandpa Jim chuckled. "With how into each other your mother and father were, you being born wasn't out of the question. But she spent too much time trying to turn your father into something he wasn't compared to trying to save up for a life for two babies. I don't want you to fall into the same trap."

Zack felt himself bristle. "'You don't know her, grandpa."

"And therein lies the problem. I never got to know your father before things happened. How come I haven't et her? Or that girl that your brother is sweet on?"

 _She gave Zack a critical look out the corner of her eye. "I don't want to meet your grandparents because I know what they'd say about me." Zack lifted an eyebrow. "The same thing everyone else says; that I'm a trouble maker, a bad influence, I look like I'm up to no good, etc. etc."_

"She doesn't think she's good enough for me."

"Well."

"I don't think I'm good enough for her, either."

Grandpa Jim laughed in surprise. "Don't you think that's a bit of a problem?"

"It works out for us." Zack twisted his mouth to the side. Looked away, watching as his pole bent, a fish struggling on the other end of the hook. "She's gotten into some trouble before, is kind of in some trouble now. And parents don't ever really like her, her reputation generally seems to follow her around."

"And yours, from what I hear."

"Yeah…"

At that, Grandpa Jim burst out into loud, genuine laughter. He reached out and cupped his hand around Zack's neck, bringing him close so that Zack's forehead rested against his cheek. "You're a chip off the old block, son. But that's why I worry about you. I know you always choose to do the right thing, in your own misguided way of getting there, but you always do. I just wanted to know if there was anything me and grandma did to make you avoid us."

"I haven't been avoiding you."

"You haven't called or emailed…"

"I don't even call my own mom, that's nothing to be worried about." Zack stood back and patted his grandfather on the shoulder. "But I will be once I catch the biggest fish I can find." He turned and reached for his pole as it continued to pull, almost parallel to the ground.

"Oh, we'll see about that, son."

Zack grabbed the pole and tugged hard, reeling in as the seconds passed. Pulling harder and harder…until the line snapped and Zack was flung back onto his ass, the pole whipping back and forth from the force of the tug-of-war. He glared over at his Grandpa Jim, who laughed so hard tears fell from his eyes. He swung a medium sized fish and forth on the line in front of him.

"You want to try again?" Grandpa Jim asked, once he finally calmed down. A good ten minutes later.

"No, I'm good right here."

It wasn't the only fish that pulled on Zack's line that day. By the time they wound down to head back into the city, Zack had a good medium-sized fish that was only just smaller than his grandfather's as his prize, ready to be cleaned and eaten for dinner. _At least that's something Cody's good at,_ Zack thought. _While Grandma and Grandpa are here, I don't have to worry about food poisoning._

He rested his chin in his hand, watching as they pulled back through the city. His mind instantly moving back to what'd been bothering him the closer they got. It startled him how much at ease he'd been while hanging out with his grandfather. And maybe that was the point. That he hadn't realized how much had bene plaguing him for so long. Not just with Riley and Ian, but with his own problems. It was one thing to talk to Dr. Morrison about it, it was his job to listen.

But to come out and say things like that to his family…at least he was able to start somewhere. He didn't talk to Cody about it, didn't really bring it up to his father, and he and his mother's relationship was still strained from the way he blew up at her when he was in the hospital. To the point they may as well have been strangers.

 _Maybe that's why I focused on everything else so much,_ Zack thought. _Because I feel like a stranger in my own home._ The only person he was close to lived halfway across the city, his friends seemed to like Cody more than they liked him, and it took forever for his girlfriend to even say she was his girlfriend. And now there was this guy who was coming in and trying to disrupt everything, acting like he was stupid, useless, and getting in the way of—

Zack suddenly sat up, suddenly feeling cold. Something slamming into his head that he hadn't realized before. Something that was staring him straight in the face. _How could I be so stupid!_ He sat up even higher and looked to his grandfather, blurting out, "Can you drop me off?"

Grandpa Jim looked at him in concern but nodded, pulling on the wheel to move over in traffic so Zack could climb out of the passenger's seat. He raced into the hotel, nearly crashing into Mr. Moseby as he went.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to run in my lobby, hooligan?" He demanded.

"Sorry, Mr. Moseby," Zack quickly apologized. He started to move out of the way, but was stopped when Mr. Moseby grasped his arm, looking at him curiously. Zack leaned against the manager's desk, pressing his hand atop the paper that sat facedown on the corner.

"If I do say so myself," Mr. Moseby said slowly, eyeing Zack with an expression of concern that Zack had never seen before. "You don't look so well, Zack. Is everything okay?"

Zack lifted his chin and nodded. "Everything's fine. I'm sorry for running." He reached out and patted the hotel manager on the back, surreptitiously placing a 'kick me' sign that he swiped off the desk to the manager's back as he did so.

He left the hotel lobby and went up to the suite, hoping his grandfather was still there.

He opened the door to his suite just as his cell phone rang. "Mom? Cody?" Zack called, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his phone. "Grandma, are you here?" Receiving no response, he pulled his phone from his pocket, slid his thumb across the screen to answer, and brought it to his ear. "Hello?" He waited for a response, the sound of breathing, anything. Heard nothing but silence. "Hello?"

Zack pulled his phone from his ear and looked at the screen, his eyebrows coming together when he saw it was a call from Riley. He put the phone back to his ear. "Riles, are you there? Hello?" Dread filled him as there was a scratching sound before the call ended.

Zack turned on his heel and hurried from the suite, slamming the door shut behind him, ignoring his brother's and mother's confused shouts behind him.

* * *

 **A/N:** I just re-read this story to regain my inspiration for it (and to remember what I'd done already, lol) and I'm wayyy too hard on myself with this story. I used to want to start it over and try again but now that I've looked over it again, it reads great and I'm still excited for what I have planned for you all.

Took a bit longer than I wanted it to, to get an update, but I finally got one up. I hope you enjoyed the look into Zack and one of the most important people in his life (though Grandpa Jim is technically an OC of sorts).

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


	18. According To Him

**Chapter Eighteen:** _According To Him_

* * *

If Zack knew Riley was lying when he said she 'got hit in the face' he didn't show it. And, honestly, that's what worried her, much more than the police that continued to tramp throughout her uncle's house, picking up things, dusting for fingerprints, and asking questions.

The same questions she'd been asked before.

And all with the same tone. That they didn't believe her. That there was no case there because nothing had happened. That she may have been projecting. _That_ was a fun one, that she may have been making it all up, projecting her own fears out into something for…what?

For attention?

The last thing she wanted was attention. The only thing she ever _got_ in life was attention. Attention for being a twin, always being asked the same questions over and over, "what's it like being a twin?" "who's the smart one?" "who's the pretty one" "who's better in school?" "who is the girly one?" Enough so that she ignored the questions and immediately shot them back to whomever asked her, taking in a sense of glee when it made them uncomfortable or unsure of how to respond. Then there was the attention she got because of her who her parents were; her father had been a big name in the science world and she'd been sked about him as she grew up, wondering "Are you proud of your daddy?" "do you know what he does?" "do you know the things he's done?" and all the while her mom worked at his side for most of his career—before focusing on family—she'd been well known as well.

It became even more unbearable after their death, and everything else had fallen apart surrounding it and them. BPD, APD. Before Parents' Death, After Parents' Death. No matter what, attention was thrust upon her. She tried to keep out of the spotlight, keep to herself before people could figure out what was going on behind closed doors while Robert loomed around the corner. But it was hard not to notice the little things, the little things that added up to big things that eventually had them move around a lot.

Constant moving meant different schools, didn't schools meant always being the 'new kid', and that came with its own set of attention she tried hard to ignore. It wasn't a surprise that she quickly fell into the negative attention she may have gotten from those around her, finding that more enjoyable than anything positive that'd be said about her or to her. She grew suspicious of anyone who did. She lashed out, tried to keep them away.

It was strange, considering she knew the only attention she received from Robert was negative. He found a fault with anything they did. Though, intuitively, she knew it was his alcoholism that was fueling things, long before learning of the cycle of abuse he'd gone through as well. Issues he needed to work through that she put upon others.

So when Zack arrived at her house, surprising her more in the speed he'd gotten there—wasn't he supposed to be fishing?—than of his being there. Then she noticed how quickly he came to her side, grabbing her shoulder then dropping his hand as if burned, looking her over, asking, "Are you okay?" almost the literal second he'd seen her.

She had lifted her eyebrows and replied almost incredulously, "I'm fine." And her face had screwed up in confusion before she could stop herself. And she winced, feeling the sting that shot through her face before she could stop it. It'd been a skill she used to have, to hardly balk at any sort of pain. Nothing was more painful than the worst of what'd gotten from Robert. And yet, she'd let her guard down, as she was to do when Zack was around.

She knew he noticed it, his eyes had immediately ping-ponged off her face to gaze over her arms and legs. She recognized the cursory glance, he couldn't help but do it after she finally admitted her abuse—which had been his fault as well—whenever he saw her. A move that showed he was worried but didn't really know how to address it. That was fine, abuse was hard to talk about. But it wasn't abuse this time.

"What happened?" Zack had finally asked.

And she had shrugged, saying, "I got hit in the face," a quick response that didn't need any other explanation. A lot of things could've hit her in the face. A wayward elbow when wrestling with her siblings, a football to the face—it wouldn't have been the first time—not watching where she was going—clumsiness was the easiest excuse for anything, accidentally dropping her cell phone on her face. Those things may as well have been bricks.

She quickly changed the subject, glancing over her shoulder as the house slowly started to come alive. Not much longer. She scratched the back of her head, asking, "What are you doing here, anyway?"

He looked at her funny. "You called me."

At that, she tilted her head aside, eyebrows coming together, scrutinizing her sort of boyfriend. She hadn't called him. Or else, if she had, it hadn't been on purpose. Maybe nerves of waiting for the police to arrive. She had _thought_ about calling him for some support. But knew it would've been something that she'd have to explain to _everyone_ and while they were all starting to find out—she wasn't sure if Tapeworm, Moose, and Cody knew—it was hardly giving her time to wrap her head around anything.

And, here's Zack now wanting to be her 'knight in shining armor' in that aspect. She felt a surge of appreciation for him. But all the same, it was knocked aside by the fear of what's happened once the police did get there. And what the repercussion of it all would be.

 _How stupid,_ she thought. Here she was, in the same situation she'd been in years before and it was like she hadn't learned from any of it. Keeping something a secret because of shame—mostly shame—when until she _couldn't_ keep it a secret anymore, and then when there was no choice but to involve the police, she continued to keep quiet.

Continued to downplay because…why?

"I must've pocket dialed you," she explained, sighing wearily. "It's been a busy morning." She then looked at him seriously. "But you came fast…is everything okay?"

Zack sighed through his nose. "Yeah, but…I thought you were hurt or something." He looked over her face once more. "Or, I don't know, that he did something…" He twisted his mouth to the side. "I guess I'm just a little jumpy right now. I was talking to my Grandpa and he really made me think about some things. With this and with me…"

"'I thought grandparents were supposed to spoil you and make you fat," Riley teased.

Zack smiled, shrugged. "Well, they tried on the last part but even they couldn't fatten me up for too long."

Riley smiled back then said, her voice falling flat, "Something tripped the security system this morning. The police are on their way."

"You think it's him?"

She raised and lowered her shoulder in a shrug. "I know it is."

"How?" His eyes narrowed a fraction, then bounced off her face again.

She reached up and lightly touched the stinging pain by her eye, knowing it was going to bruise within a matter of hours. If anything, it'd more likely to happen in a matter of minutes if the way he was looking at her wasn't bad enough. The swelling had already started, she could hardly even blink without her face tightening up.

"Because it's the same thing he'd done before," she explained. Zack tilted his head, listening quietly. She could tell from the way he clenched his jaw that he was only seconds away from blowing up and that her own downplaying of the situation, whether smart of foolish, was the only thing keeping him in line. "When we were…whatever we were…I used to sneak him in and out of my house because I knew Rob would never approve of him." Zack's eyebrows twitched at the shortening of her former foster father's first name. That sort of rebellion usually would've had her receiving a quick smack to the face. If it weren't for him being far way, she never would've dreamed of doing it. "After a while, when I didn't want to be yanked round by him anymore, he'd start to break in. He didn't take anything obvious, but we'd notice little things would be moved around, some tiny things would be missing."

"And Robert would never believe you," Zack said, filling in the blank. "And would take it out on the rest of you."

"And so he could always get away with it." Riley shook her head. "The bastard was smarter than I gave him any bloody credit for. And now that he's doing the same thing here…" she shrugged again. "There's not really much proof I can give."

"He hit you, didn't he?"

Her silence gave him the response he needed.

"So tell them that!"

"I can't prove that he did it either. It'd be my word against his."

Zack frowned deeply. Licked his lips and stepped toward her. Brought up his hands to rest on her shoulders, waiting for her to finish the flinch that would inevitably come—it made him frown deeper—and forced her head up so he could look her in the eye. "The Riley I know, even when Robert was tormenting her, didn't like something like this beat her down. You didn't everything you could to make sure your brothers and sister wee safe, but you're letting this guy turn you into a shadow of yourself. It's almost like I don't know you anymore."

It was Riley's turn to quirk an eyebrow. "Now you know how I felt."

Zack's grip slacked and he dropped his hands from her shoulders. He twisted his mouth to the side, nodded. Then he grinned a lopsided grin, stretching his arms back to place his hands on the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess all that obsession with food and blaming other people for my problems got old fast." He paused for a second, his face screwing up into an expression of deep thought. "Or maybe I didn't whine enough, Cody always seemed to get the attention when he did that."

Riley rolled her eyes. "That's because you were usually what made him whine, and rightfully so, yeah?"

"Well, yeah, and she always punished me, too, even if he couldn't prove I did anything—what?" Zack immediately broke off, seeing Riley stare at him. "What'd I say?"

He'd said everything he'd needed to say. And said it perfectly. So much so that even when Riley threw her arms around his neck and gave him a long kiss in thanks, she could feel a bit of her former self coming back. The part of her that slowly faded as Ian arrived back in her life was coming back with a vengeance.

Everything she did in life, was, in a way, for her parents to be proud of her. They would've been proud to know how she and her siblings worked to get out of a life that tormented them, turned everything around, and had found family and friends that'd continue to support them. So what was keeping her from doing it now?

The same thing he'd been holding over her, her past, and how others would react to it. But she'd told Zack and he hadn't run away screaming. Hadn't abandoned her like she thought he would. Hadn't reacted negatively, thought she was a monster, hadn't thought she was ever boring, moody, or that he couldn't take her anywhere. Hadn't thought she needed to be kept a secret and string her along. No, Zack thought she was—and always said she was—beautiful, incredible, and that he couldn't get her out of his head.

Somehow, Ian had wormed his way into that and poisoned everything she knew to be true. Had, even as she noticed and knew then, kept her pulling herself away from her family. Isolated her so that he could…easily do everything that he'd already done. Take over her life, slowly ruin it, all because he could.

"Wow," Zack said with a grin when the kiss ended. "If I knew you'd do that, I would've tried being sappy ages ago."

"Nah, mate," Riley replied with a shake of her head. She reached up, brushing his hair back from his forehead. "You just needed to be you."

So when the police responded to the alarm going off and asked questions and looked around, Riley told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

* * *

 **A/N:** Finally, I got to the point where I revealed the story title and inspiration. Well, if any of you didn't know, I was asked to do a story based off of Orianthi's According To You for Zack and Riley yeaaaaars ago, but never really knew how to do it as anything other than a one chapter song-fic (which would've been horrific) so there you go! Also, I need to change the story cover for this as someone drew better picture of Zack and Riley for me! 😊

 **Cheers,**

 **-Riles**


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